It was only appearing within threads, not forum indexes.
I've turned it off on threads and retained it on long form articles, where it is probably more useful.
I'm just seeing if people use it - I'll be loosely monitoring traffic from social networks to see if it's made any difference. If it doesn't get used much, then I'll get rid of it.
Bad enough in what way?
I use NSC on an iPad daily and selfishly ensure that any changes I make, which are few, are fine on an iPad.
iPads account for c30% of NSC's 'mobile' traffic (iPhones account for 35%) so I always try to make sure that the experience doesn't suffer.
(I know I need to...
Like many things - I'm just trying it out. If it doesn't work or overly annoys then I'll take it away again.
Experience suggests that the smallest of changes is met with "I hate it, I need to have what I had before" within the first few hours.