the reason why you have a higher click rate on the first is because your second (which I prefer) style displays the links below the scrolling threshold (meaning that a user will have to scroll in a 800*600 resolution) to view the links

another factor is the color choices on your buttons -- buttons with a dark background/light text do not stand out as much as buttons with a light background/dark text --- I would also recommend that you use ALT and TITLE attributes properly on your images.

I've decided to go with the new page. The two links shown above (new and old) will now be the same page. The old page has been taken offline.

Even thought the second page was more aesthetically pleasing, I can't ignore the new page's higher click percentage. I guess the new page promotes editors better by listing them at the top of the page and by loading faster.

Thank you gthelp, shivaji, killer_typo, cscgal, poa, chipps, and red_evolve for your help.

-David