I'm with all the figure-eight folks. The problem with Sabreman's neat-coils techniques (which I was also taught) is that it introduces exactly one twist for every coil.
In a short
line, or one that's not going to be used soon (or in fear or panic) that's no big deal, and maybe worth it for the neatness of the coil.
But in a long
line that's got to run freely without knots, snags, or spaghetti -- like a masthead
spinnaker or genoa halyard, or a sailing
dinghy's painter, that's got to be thrown to another boat for towing -- all those twists are the work of the devil.
The figure-eight technique is exactly the same, but you just bring your hands together (like you're clapping), without adding the twist. If the
line starts out without twists, it will naturally hang in figure-eights, because a figure-eight is one clockwise twist plus one counter-clockwise twist = no twists.
The finishing technique -- wrap it around ~3x and pass the loop through and over the top -- works exactly the same with the figure-eights as with the pretty coils. And the whole technique seems to work pretty well with old-fashioned twisted ("triple-lay")
lines, too.