It’s such a cumbersom procedure to determine the actual zoom level on the zoom scrollbar, always counting up or down the fields. Is it so difficult to show the current zoom level as a tooltip popup (title tag) on the scrollbar handle?
Wyo
The map at http://www.informationfreeway.org/ shows the zoom levels in the bottom corner.
Or if you click on permalink on there or on osm.org, the URL will include the zoom level.
Why doe you want to know the zoom level anyway?
Because its not useful for most users.
Maybe it is the same reason why the search box of the Nominatim service can not be moved to the top of the main page … 
Thus, many first time users don’t know that there is a search funktion.
You don’t mean that serious, do you?
Wyo
If you hover over the permalink at the bottom right of the screen of osm.org, you can also see the zoom level.
You mean within the URL in the status line? So far I’ve always clicked the permalink to see it in the adress line.
Fine, yet I still think the map web page would gain a little bit if the zoom level was shown when hovering over the scrollbar handle. Seems to me a rather simple enhancement.
Wyo
If it’s so simple then you wouldn’t have any problem finding the relevant part of the open layers library and fix it yourself wouldn’t you?
Sure, if I get a hint where to start looking for. BTW why open layers library? Is that used in the osm.org map?
Here is your hint: Open/download the page and start looking at the javascript.