[smt88]

This design makes a huge assumption, that HN readers find more value in thumbnails than in... almost anything else.

That assumption is wrong for me and I suspect for most other HN users.

[_iamsr_]

it's more common now to have image in post as more user prefer multimedia content over plain text content. At last it comes to personal preferences of user but our UI is just some enhancement to give user an alternative who are not happy with current HN interface.