You're probably seeing what you see because of your Code-Wrapping settings.
If you aren't using "Auto Code Wrapping" and if "Code Wrap Length" is large (or blank so you get the default of 70) then the width of the main body of the monastery gates is determined by how how long the lines of code are in nodes currently on the front page.
Even if you are using "Auto Code Wrapping" then he browser is making the call on which soft-hyphen to wrap at, so your results may vary.
If you uncheck "Auto Code Wrapping" and set "Code Wrap Length" to something small (like 40) you'll find that the Gates are very slim indeed.