The "Show Article Tools Area" switch at Admin Panel -> Settings -> Switches controls whether the article bit shows all of the tool links to vote, comment, email, etc. With the switch on, all those articles appear. With it off, they disappear.

The "Show Article Tools Area" switch should normally be on if "Indirect Linking" is off, because otherwise there'd be no way for the user to reach all those pages. If indirect linknig is on, however, they can click through to the details page to find the same options. In that case, it's just a matter of personal prefernce whether you find the article tools links to be useful or clutter.

Note that the hits count is also in the article tools area in the standard template. If you want more fine-grained control, go to Admin -> Themes -> Manage Templates -> Article Bit and search for {SWITCH_LINKTOOLS} to find the area.