The current node.tpl.php does not check for empty $submitted and $terms variables.

The code:

  <table class="nodetitle">
  <tr>
    <td>
      <h2 class="title"><a href="<?php print $node_url?>"><?php print $title?></a></h2>
      <span class="submitted"><?php print $submitted?></span>
      <span class="taxonomy"><?php print $terms?></span>
    </td>
  </tr>
  </table>

Should be changed to:

  <table class="nodetitle">
  <tr>
    <td>
      <h2 class="title"><a href="<?php print $node_url?>"><?php print $title?></a></h2>
      <?php if ($submitted) { ?><span class="submitted"><?php print $submitted?></span><?php }; ?>
      <?php if ($terms) { ?><span class="taxonomy"><?php print $terms?></span><?php }; ?>
    </td>
  </tr>
  </table>

This avoids an empty line which looks ugly sometimes.