This is set by the theme; it's already possible (easy even) to make a theme with larger borders. We can't do it as a preference since themes don't know how to draw arbitrary border sizes.

Thanks for your fast answer!

I'll tell the reporter so in the Ubuntu bug.

Created attachment 124892 [details] [review]
Patch to allow setting window border sizes independent of the theme

After reading the heartfelt plea on Launchpad for a theme-independent fix to this I wrote the attached in a coffeebreak.  Can someone a) critique it and b) try it and see whether it works for them?  It works for me.

Created attachment 124893 [details]
Screenshot under Crux

It works under Crux and Human, at least.

There's been some more conversation on the Ubuntu bug, including this interesting suggestion:

"To enhance the usability of the resizing border it would just need to stick to the border for a couple pixels worth of movement, say 3~5. That would allow one to stop at the border easily without becoming too bothersome during normal use."

Review of attachment 124892 [details] [review]:

Marking my own patch as reviewed to get it off the need-to-review list.  It was fine, at least when written.

Still no solution to this? It is still very annoying to resize windows with a high resolution and a relatively "fast" mouse.
The patch could be a solution but do I really have to compile my own metacity to get window borders that you can actually click on?

I would love to see a solution for this.  I see this as a very frustrating usability issue.  Thanks!

I've got to chime in on this one as well.  I'm sure there are those who don't use mouse/edge resizing, but there are certainly tons that do.

To be blunt, this IS one of the many, tiny, but significant issues that holds Linux back and scares off new users, specifically Windows users.

I can't tell you how much I have pulled my hair out trying to do a simple window resize.  Start, stop, start, stop, over and over...let go of the mouse....take a breather, and try again; I'm not kidding.  :(  It's driven me nuts.

With some help at the Ubuntu forums, I've managed to make the manual changes to individual themes, but that circumvents the primary point: End user usability out of the box.  Windows has it in this case, and we should too!  :)

So, like others, I'm making a plea to the devs here: This may appear to be trivial at first glance, but this kind of annoyance sends would be converts back to Windows where resizing is quick and easy.

We need a root 'fix' for this.  Presently, I just set mine to '7', and that seems about right.

As changes like these, or any changes, don't come easily, I recommend against making *too small* of a change, as a subsequent upsizing after that may *never* happen, as opinion percentages will shift with each pixel added, making the 'vote' harder to garner for another change.

Oh, there's one other option that would probably work better than a border resize, as some may not like the reduced screen space.  Have an 'invisible' resize border independent of the visible border.  Isn't that how Windows does it?  I'm using 22" monitors at 1680x1050, btw.

It really seems like this is an Ubuntu bug. If 1-pixel borders are broken (fwiw, I agree they are), then don't ship themes like that. Or don't default to them.
Or also include "Wide Borders" versions of the themes. Or whatever.

Themes should be able to control the border width, it's part of the aesthetic of the theme. But yeah, you can make an unusable theme. Don't do that then.

This still isn't fixed in Ubuntu 10.10. And it really should. Does anybody know what Windows uses as a default border size?

The problem is not thin borders, its that the mouse pointer doesnt easily attach to the border, making it VERY difficult to actually select it.  
Comment 5 solution needs to be implemented.  That would be independent of the theme used.
Please, lets get this fixed - it's been an issue for WAY too long.

I don't think there's a way to implement comment 5 (without X server changes), unfortunately. There's no way to "stick" the mouse pointer.

I *may* have a new insight.  I have read all of the comments here and on Ubuntu.

It seems to me that the cursor changes, "offering" a resize, over a wider range than is accepted for resize.  I get the changed cursor, I *very* carefully click, and only 1 out of 5 times, sometimes less often, does it latch on and move it.

Yes, the range to capture the edge should be wider, but further, it should match the width over which the cursor changes so that reality matches the visual feedback.

Thanks.  I sure hope this gets cut into automatic updates.  Ubuntu is close to unusable right now on a 1600x1200 display.

For me the behaviour is different.

The cursor changes only when it is above a 1 pixel wide line, and this is also the only place where the window border can be grabbed.

I don't have a very high resolution (1280x800) and a good mouse, but I like to have a rather high mouse acceleration.

I use terminals a lot and often need to make them wider, and that always is a pain in the ass.

This bug is almost 4 years old and still keeps annoying people. My colleague complained about the same issue recently. Could the priority be increased or something to get this be actually fixed? 

Although it is a small issue, it degrades usability a lot.

There is no reason that a theme should need to have a thick visible border to be usable. Is there any progress on this issue?