Can the redirecting page be turned off? I appreciate knowing where I'm being directed, though it seems that this could happen invisibly to the user and simply redirect to the actual page without the middleman...

Yup, they can be turned off. I just turned them off, and will leave it that way for a few days. I think that I prefer them on, as they give folks with lower bandwidth or slower computers some confirmation that their browser is doing something. The redirect pages come up immediately, while sometimes the more complex pages don't. Let me know how this goes for awhile, and I'll see if it makes sense to leave off.

Unfortunately it can't be done on a user by user basis, it's all or nothing for everybody...

Works well with my connection, but I see what you mean now. Maybe post a poll to see what the general population thinks of the choices? Just my 2 cents...

Poll is up, vote right here... (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10477)