[poissonpie]

Are cars too formulaic? There's always a steering wheel. And pedals. A gear lever. And wheels and breaks. And headlights. And......

Are books formulaic? Cover, Title, Author, Chapters, Writing, A beginning, a middle, an end?

formulaic allows us, the users, to easily begin using something new without a learning curve. Personally, I don't want every website to be innovative, requiring me to re-learn or figure out how to do something.

[PuerkitoBio]

Your metaphor, to me, would be more along the lines of the browser frame, the clicking, the scrolling, ... Not the content and the design.