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well, i agree that we've developped the habit of looking to the left (or top...) for navigation, but that's partly because a couple of guys at the beginning of teh interwebs put their nav there (in *shudder* tables) and now it's become a convention. i can't remember where (sorry) but i actually read a compelling article (a long time ago) about why navigation on the right is actually significantly more ergonomic (for instance, the fact that the majority of web users have their mouse on the right of the keyboard, and the scroll bars are also on the right side of the window, so it often means less mousework to get to the top right than the top left... i know, these examples break down some when you factor in such hyper recent breakthroughs as *gasp* meeces with scrollwheels, but there was more to it.)
actually if i remember right that article said that from an ergonomic standpoint THE ENTIRE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT is wrong !! (i mean, poorly designed). it was an interesting read. if i manage to find it again amongst my eleventy bazillion bookmarks (i read it long before tags, alas) i'll give you the link.
on the other hand, in occidental languages anyway, the reading pattern is left to right, so left is the beginning point, and that's in favor of a left nav.
i personally have seen some sites with right nav and a few of them have struck me as interestingly innovative and perfectly functional ; but that does also indicate that i noticed it, whereas left nav has become practically instinctive. also the danger with right nav (and i can say this because it has personally happened to me more than once) is that if your content is too large, and one of your visitors (like me, for instance) prefers not to browse in a fullscreen window, the navigation can easily get cut off by the right edge of the window in which case you look all over the damn place for it and get really really annoyed, and by the time you find it (IF you find it) you've usually decided NEVER TO SET FOOT IN THAT STUPID SITE AGAIN. (flounce !)
however a right column can usefully serve as a place to put little info flashes, links, etc. much like on the mr front page.
anyway good luck with your columns ! let me know how you manage.
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