To help you figure things out, there is a Scoop Admin Guide which can hopefully answer most of your questions.
Some tips:
Most of the layout is changed in "Blocks", found in the admin tools menu
Features can be turned on and off, and configured, in "Site Controls" in the admin tools menu
Stories have an "edit" link right beside the "Full Story" link on an index page, and right beside the "Post a Comment" link on the full story page. They can also be edited by clicking the story title in the "Story List" admin tool
Boxes are what allow you to write new features for Scoop; they require a knowledge of the perl programming language to work with effectively, although you can often make small changes without knowing much perl. If you would like a feature added but cannot program it yourself, ScoopHost does custom Scoop programming as one of its services.
If you aren't sure where to look for a particular feature or piece of display, try the "Search Admin Tools" link in the admin tools menu.
Now, a brief word from the drab rumpled blazer, and tieless blue oxford shirt.
Rick, forgot to clearly state his main premise of the Big C - crony capitalism.
OABTW, Governerd, I will allow you to call this taxpaying citizen a "customer" when I have the choice of not having my money taken by force, and the option of spending it on a better value than your intrusive, growing government bureaucracy dependent upon more coercion.
