I feel both patterns are relevant for a particular context. the important variables: A) will the user need to bookmark or revisit some of this data at a later point? B) is there a finite amount of data C)is the order in which the data displays crucial. D)is the Dataset updated /reorganized/regenerated frequently?

so obviously if the user needs to bookmark or get back to a specific listed data point quickly pagination will be a superior pattern choice. User : "I need <x> and I know it's on page<y>"

If the order of the data is important it can go either way. Both scroll and pagination allow for this. Scrolling is advantageous because it does not limit the viewable data. While pagination allows the user to jump around the set in a predictable manner albeit with more clicks. If there is an indeterminate amount of data I think the point should go to the scroll pattern.

if the dataset is constantly updated or re-organized hands down Scrolling will be a better solution. recalculation of pagination on rapidly changing data sets is a nightmare The user's mental position in a set will be challenged and getting through the set can be complicated and take many clicks.

Scrolling becomes much more useful if there is some form of visual aid with the information being listed. Google image search is a pleasure to scroll because the set that I am scrolling through is changing giving me a natural feel of exploration.

Pagination is much more effective on static, well organized data. A phonebook makes sense to have an index. each page could be a letter allowing the user to quickly jump from section to section based on their needs. A scrolling pattern could take hours to get to the desired data with a huge volume of numbers/name pairs. Without pictures, it also requires the user to read more which could potentially further slow them down.

The patterns are not mutually exclusive. Take for instance the phone book example mentioned above. Add pictures to each user and then have multiple scrolling pages paginated by letter. This would combine the strengths of both patterns minimizing the user's need to explore, but also offering an interesting way to explore a directory.

Scrolling: spirit of exploration. Low level of interaction. Great when the user is only generally aware of what they need. Poor for searching using the UI (great for find on this page)

pagination: ordered targeting searching. Enables quick navigation, eases return trips to info. Poor exploration. disjointed for reading. High level of user interaction.

All said I really enjoy scrolling. I find it relaxing, Seamless when reading articles, and it frankly feels more natural to use. I think there are good ways to use pagination, however I feel that I see it used inappropriately more often than scrolling.

-Tom Marra Javascript Front-end Developer