Every time I come to the airport and arrive to the boarding gate, the same scenario occurs. All passengers are sitting in the area, until boarding is announced. Then, mostly everyone queue up.
I prefer remaining seated until the queue is depleted since it is not a pleasant thing, especially when it was already done at check-in and security.
Also, once in the jet bridge, queuing continues, especially when the staff requires passengers to gate check carry-ons. Then, inside the plane, traffic jams continue as people try to cram their luggage into the overhead bins, aisle-seated passengers get up to give way to others, last-minute re-seating arrangements happen...
A few years ago, when boarding a Virgin America flight at SFO, I had a much more pleasant experience. The gate access was already open long before departure time, and passengers leisurely showed up at the counter, had their boarding passes scanned and headed to the jet bridge. No line or big group of people; it happened like if it was train waiting to depart at a terminus station. In fact, after we boarded, other passengers continued to show up on board, in small groups or by themselves, during the next 20 minutes that led to the actual departure.
Why does not this process get applied to other airlines as well? There is no waiting at all and the experience is much better, in comparison to the traditional "wait until the last minute and call everyone at the gate" method.