Re: [boost] Re: [Poll] New look-n-feel for Boost documentation
In-Reply-To: <415CBB84.1050608@boost-consulting.com> joel@boost-consulting.com (Joel) wrote (abridged):
Serif or sans serif? For continuous reading in print, serif fonts are generally more readable than sans serif. However, on the web, the opposite is true. Serifs are tiny, subtle strokes which, on screen in a small size, become a rather crude series of little square bitmaps. Their absence makes the font more readable.
On my 1280x1024 desktop machine, the serif on the middle bar of my default Times New Roman 'F' is drawn with 12 pixels and 4 different colours. Maybe the studies you cite were done before anti-aliasing was common? Regardless, I think it should be up to the user. -- Dave Harris, Nottingham, UK
| -----Original Message----- | From: boost-bounces@lists.boost.org | [mailto:boost-bounces@lists.boost.org] On Behalf Of Dave Harris | Sent: 01 October 2004 22:48 | To: boost@lists.boost.org | Cc: brangdon@cix.compulink.co.uk | Subject: Re: [boost] Re: [Poll] New look-n-feel for Boost | documentation | | In-Reply-To: <415CBB84.1050608@boost-consulting.com> | joel@boost-consulting.com (Joel) wrote (abridged): | > <http://tinyurl.com/5emyz> | > | > Serif or sans serif? | Regardless, I think it should be up to the user. I strongly second a 'user choice' requirement because the most comfortable font (and also its width/boldness) depends so much on the size and resolution, and between pixelly LCD and fuzzier electron beam. There is even a compromise between viewing in a tiny font to get a whole page, or two even, on screen to get ones bearing, and viewing a larger font when trying to get ones head around some detail. Nice browsers make this easy, Mozilla, Adobe Reader ... and Boost Doc must allow and indeed encourage this too, perhaps by also providing some sample css versions to suit different catagories - eg tiny phone & PDA, basic 1024 VDU, basic 1024 LCD, reassuring expensive/large >=1600 VDU and LCD? Nasty web designers impose their font size on you - making it illegiblely small on high-end resolutions, and maddening scrolling on low resolution displays. (Some Big Boys have more money then sense?) For text I'm Henry Ford man - any colour as long as it is black on white, but I would very much like code in (my) colors. And I prefer serifs - if only to distiguish text from code. But overall I like the New Look. Paul Paul A Bristow Prizet Farmhouse, Kendal, Cumbria UK LA8 8AB +44 1539 561830 +44 7714 330204 mailto: pbristow@hetp.u-net.com
Paul A Bristow wrote:
Nasty web designers impose their font size on you - making it illegiblely small on high-end resolutions, and maddening scrolling on low resolution displays. (Some Big Boys have more money then sense?)
No one's imposing any absolute font size. No, nothing like that.
For text I'm Henry Ford man - any colour as long as it is black on white, but I would very much like code in (my) colors.
And I prefer serifs - if only to distiguish text from code.
But overall I like the New Look.
Thanks. It's based on the W3C docs (e.g. http://www.w3.org/XML/), so I'm pretty sure we are on the right track. “Hopefully, future Web innovations will emulate the example set by the Web Consortium in its work on CSS” — Jakob Nielsen I agree. Cheers, -- Joel de Guzman http://www.boost-consulting.com http://spirit.sf.net
participants (8)
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brangdon＠cix.compulink.co.uk -
Joel -
Paul A Bristow