Are left border backgrounds outmoded?

[Marcia]

Are left border backgrounds a "classic" since they're so handy for left navigation and divide areas so clearly? I still like them, but are they considered outdated and out of style?

[mivox]

I like *a few* of them... I've always been secretly fond of the "clever" background genre, like the "sprial notebook" look and that blue lined paper with the pink vertical margin line. (OK, my dirty little secret is out now...)

Careful using them though... Wouldn't want to end up looking like a 12 year old's FrontPage/Yahoo Store class project or anything. ;)

[korkus2000]

It depends on usage. I have seen some really slick ones. It was over used by template web developers. The secret is making it look like thats not what your doing.

The ones that don't make the grade, IMHO, are gradient backgrounds. They look cheesy. If you are trying to create a nice vertical in your design they can come in handy.

With all of the support for css, people can finally get the text to not position badly on them. It all depends on creativity.