It's just one of those things I never noticed. I grew up in the late 1980s watching Star Wars in a top-loading VCR, recorded from ABC (I think) broadcasts (commercials intact), displayed on a fuzzy TV with dials, in its own cabinet and speakers, that sat on the carpet. I saw the VHS and DVD special editions a couple times, but was so disappointed with some of the changes that I never bought either, and didn't watch much Star Wars until the prequels disappointed me and I went back and watched the original trilogy and was reminded of just how good they are once you look past the questionable revisions. Then I found this place a few years ago, and fan-edits like this one restored my memories, and in some cases improved upon them, like noticing for the first time that Threepio's right leg is silver throughout the trilogy!
Or maybe I'm just dense. ;)