In either case, no reason to be negative. If you don't like it, don't use it. If you are commenting to critique, no reason to be a jerk.
Beyond that simple case, there are loads of other bits of information encoded in the position. The image on the Wikipedia article gives a good overview of some of the trends.
Not everything needs to be pigeonholed into the "must make perfect sense" category.
I expect columns to have similar properties. Why are <span> and <script> in the same column?
What property is increasing as I go left to right and top to bottom?
Why are some columns taller than others?
But I am criticising visualizing using things such as periodic tables (were columns, rows and gaps have a particular meaning) for visualization for which they don't fit. Since it is not the first time I see such.
May point is not to use this particular visualization or not, but to make people thinking for a few seconds before starting visualizing: "Does the structure of this visualization fit the purpose? Or is it more like hammering nails with an iPhone?" (you can != you should).