I tried using it for a while trying to get used to it. I really did. For reasons emphatically stated by the /. community, the amount of whitespace is distracting to the point of being detrimental to reading/skimming the comments (as well as the comment system is broken). Again, as the greater /. community has said, comments are the main driving force why people visit the site. I read the comments and almost always ignore the story submitted. It's a running joke when I talk to IRL nerd friends to never cite the summary of a /. article. In a sense, the summary is click bait. Sure it could be better, but somehow that is part of the stupid nerd charm the site has.
When /. went to D2, I started poking around for other nerd sites that engendered intelligent comments. I found it in ArsTechnica. They have a different way of running the website, with real editors and it shows. For the most part, the articles are well worth reading. As are the comments. In some respects, the comments are actually better than /. because a wider net of different viewpoints are allowed to be seen/discussed. About a year ago they implored their loyal readership to turn off javascript/ad blockers to allow the continuation of the site remaining free. I considered the options and decided that I valued the service Arstechnica was providing, so much so that I purchased a year subscription.
That is something I've never done with Slashdot. This is the part of the reason Dice wants to get rid of me as a consumer of the content - because I enjoy it for free. In all my 15+ years of frequenting the site (almost daily), I've only once clicked on an add. In terms of supporting the site, I am the worst type of consumer. Dice wants me to leave and be replaced with people who will click on web adverts. From a MBA perspective, it makes perfect sense. I don't agree with it at all - for reasons stated much more succinctly in other comments.
Will I take part in the Slashdot boycott? I sure will. Because I have a vested interest in retaining the wonderful resource of comments that enrich my geek knowledge on a weekly basis. What will happen if it does go to the new Beta design without a massive redesign keeping in mind it's intelligent readers/commenters? It will die on the vine. Just like some other website redesigns. Digg.com being the latest example that affected me.
When Groklaw was shut down, I respected the reasons why. I seriously miss the content of that site. Partly because of PJ's internal integrity, but also because of the people who commented on the stories. To this day, I haven't found anything that even comes close to the level of professionalism and truly meaty content Groklaw had. While the feelings aren't quite as strong for /. as a site, something very valuable will be lost when it goes away. I personally think that's why the community has reacted so strongly against the Beta.
Where will the commenters and the greater community go? To someplace else on the Internet. It is inevitable. The Internet has this built in property to route around flaws and disturbances, so to do online communities. When the Phoenix lands on it's new perch, I will be there, occasionally adding my voice and enjoying the greater wisdom of the community.