Oh dear, this is my first post here! Go easy on me!

My question is about scrolling on websites. Is it generally considered amatuer to have to scroll on a web page? Should all the info be right there in front of you and you shouldn't have to spin that mouse wheel?

Scrolling down is not a matter.
It goes down the usual way of reading, and it's not a problem if your users must.

But, remember that a reader attention span is fairly short if he's not really interested in the subject you are talking about.
I usually keep an synopsis of an article at the top, with the key points on the first lines, and then, I develop them.
Don't make your readers go through 2 pages height of text to fins what they want.

On the contraries, never, ever, ever make them scroll laterally...
It's just plain wrong. Your page should flow on the width of your users viewport.
They should never have to modify anything in them to read you.

Tripy is right about reader's att... what? Oh, sorry, I forgot where I was going.

Keep it as close to a page or so in height. If I see a huge mountain of text, I usually shove off... and I like to read normally. Keep paragraphs small, and break it up with images if possible. But that's just me.

Yes, in my classes it was referred to as "keep it above the fold" as much as possible. I think if you're posting say, an article, then it isn't quite as important but on a page where you are trying to grab your visitor's attention you want as much of it as possible above the fold.