I strongly oppose this change, the current interface should be default and the one who make you scroll more, optional. Browsers already reduce vertical space, scrolling is frustrating, and increase visual fatigue because things moves. If you want easier readability, please implement a 2 columns layout which should work with Page Down & Up keys (CSS multicol) like most paper encyclopaedias (this make even more sense on > 16:9 than on most book formats) ; wasted space reduce usability.
Topic on Talk:Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements/Frequently asked questions/fr
Posted on the talk page of the project.