it is my understanding (and i could be wrong) that the str/dex ratio is the % it will add to your weapon

swords being 75 str / 25 dex means if you have 100 str you'll add 75 of that to your damage, and if you have 100 dex, you'll add 25 of that to your damage. (not to be taken literal, just example)

so axes being 50/50 means you can put in str or dex and they will both add the same amount of damage (you'd do the same amount of damage if you had 200 str and 0 dex as if you had 100 str and 100 dex)

I do not believe you want to split your str and dex up to that ratio. (but then again yes i could be wrong)

i have played rogue with axes at 130/130 str/dex and tried 30/230 str/dex and didnt see a difference. i also think the ratio is like a value for the stats.
axes however do a lot more critical strikes than dagger, so this advantage of the ratio on dagger is evened out.

best choice for weapons in the longer term is dagger + axes since you only need these 2 types to play all melee classes... otherwise you would need swords + staves + axes.
using just 2 types will give higher profs at the end.. + you can work with dex gear compared to dex + str gear on the sword route.

so if i had to choose again: dagger + axe all day

This literally makes me want to sell all of my swords and just start fresh again.

axes also seem to hit higher than their actual range is
for example on one char I have 417-497 damage, and I keep hitting in the 500s, up to 580 or so

jup. this was also done to even the ratios out. higher actual dmg + more crits for the axes because the shown dmg is boosted alot less from the stats compared to dagger

i get this for swords too actual dmg 1600 i can hit for a 1,900

Welp I'll end up switching to axe & daggers as I find/buy them meanwhile I climb a little with my swords.

I read another thread about clicking. I noticed that if I click once it keeps attacking, does it make a difference if I keep clicking instead?

no. you only need to reclick to move monsters or if the monster moves on the page. exact same speed of clicks.

I always felt like faster clicks was quicker

And click once to attack till dead always feels significantly slower.
Probably all in my head

Time it on a well mob. Ten seconds clicking vs ten seconds with the first click. Come back with your results:p