Mr Ghostface said:
The Phantom Menace was never going to be written as if it were something brand new, was it. That would be dumb. It's not like audiences of the original movies thought they better hold off for the first three episodes. The Star Wars movies were written to play in the order they were made. Lucas and some fans might want them to work in story order, but they simply weren't written that way. It's just the way it is.
I want you to consider two things you said:
Lucas... might want them to work in story order
and
they simply weren't written that way
Keep in mind that Lucas wrote the prequels.
Now, I'm definitely not saying he did a good job at it, but even you admit that it's his intent.
That would be dumb.
Maybe so, but, as Silver Key explains, one of the purposes of this thread is to give ideas on how to fix the prequels. One of the things that some people think is broken about the prequels is that they don't work as an intro to Star Wars.
Silver Key said:
We are discussing what might make them work in order.