[opensuse-support] apps piling up in panel

Two or three times recently--as recent as this afternoon--a whole batch of apps, the icons of which live in the panel, or systray, have piled up at the left-hand side. They don't overlap, but they are all to directly the right of the normal (what I consider normal) icons, which are the smiling ball, desktop1, system settings, YaST, Konsole terminal, and Kate. All the other icons --15, plus the time/date, have moved to the left. What is causing this, and how can I make it stop? (I have moved them back a couple of times, but they no longer stay put.) System is OS-TW, up to date as per 1114. (I think it also occurred before this update.) Thanx for any insight--doug