Why we are still using 88x31 buttons

Will I be using 88x31 buttons on my own site? Maybe. Will I try some alternate formats? Also maybe. I've been reworking old icons to add some flavor to my pages, but I haven't decided on other graphics yet.
In the end though I have to conclude that, love them or hate them, 88x31 buttons are good. They occupy a unique space defined by their prevalence on the early web that wasn't due to a cash-fueled advertising rush forced on Internet surfers, but was because of their origin as freely released buttons that could be easily co-opted, remixed, and spread organically. The Internet embraced them early on, and I don't see any sign they'll be let go any time soon.