>> Apparently the default in GNOME 2 is to force
  >> panels to remain on top. Grrr. Does anyone know
  >> where the option to change that is hidden? Or is
  >> it not available?

  daz> dagnabit. i wish I was at home so I could say
  daz> for definate. however, memory says that if you
  daz> are taking about the default skinny panel on the
  daz> top, you cant.

The default in Gnome is the "skinny" edge panel across
the bottom, not the top. (It can be relocated.)

		      its stuck on top. You have to add
  daz> a new panel to the bottom, add all the options
  daz> you want, then delete the top one. ...

This description doesn't sound right, nor does it align
with my experience.

I have second panel to the left and just above the
default, a floating panel that contains only a
Workspace Switcher. (I deleted the teeny one off the
default panel.) This panel, and also a couple of other
panels I had defined, remains on top. In fact, I have
two drawer panels on the main panel that open
vertically, and whatever they cover while open remains
underneath. This is not a problem because the only
reason those panels are ever open is to click a
launcher in one of them, after which it disappears.

Apparently all panels remain on top. That stinks. No
doubt it will be made configurable eventually.

-- 
Lynn David Newton
Phoenix, AZ