Re: Setting Standards for Text
- From: "Alan J. Flavell" <flavell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 12:29:37 +0000
On Sun, 6 Nov 2005, Greg Heilers wrote:
> Stan Brown wrote:
>
> > Think about this logically: your suggested 0.8em says "take the size
> > the user already selected, and make the text 20% smaller."
>
> I think the "snafu" may lie in your last suggestion. I imagine that
> 90% of the computer users in the world have never "fixed their
> browser setting", with regards to default font-size;
So those users have consented to the size which their supplier has set
for them. That's also a valid choice!
> nor are even aware of how to do it.
If it was causing them discomfort, I think they'd start looking
around. It's not as if the View> Text Size menu, or the equivalent in
other browsesrs, is some arcane lore known only to the cognoscenti -
unlike MSIE's rather hidden option for rejecting the author's font
size settings[1]. My conclusion from that is that any author who
thinks they are caring about users who don't know how to use their
"browser" settings, must take *extra* care not to set too small a text
size. You seem to be doing just the opposite.
> I was just suggesting, that because of this; and because that many
> (including myself) find most browser default settings to be on the
> "a little too large" end;
You don't suppose this is the first time that the topic has come up
here? The Usenauts have gone around and around with this logic, but I
have to agree that expecting users to set their default fonts to 25%
more than their desired normal size, in order that designers can set
them to 0.8 of what has been set, and thus hopefully get close to
their preferred answer, seems to be logically absurd.
When you're making your designs flexible enough, they will adapt
themselves harmlessly for those users who didn't make their own choice
of text size. *That's* the right place to invest the effort, IMNSHO:
making designs which are flexible enough that they don't fall to
pieces when the user settings don't match those chosen by the
designer.
> that one may want to tinker around with a font-size of 0.8em.
But 80% of the default size is not "a tad": it's a generous size step.
See the notes at http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/fonts.html#font-size-props
In CSS2, the suggested scaling factor for computer screen between
adjacent indexes was 1.2 which still created issues for the small
sizes.
1/1.2 is 0.833..., as compared to your proposed 0.8. The consequences
of such a choice depend on many things - imponderables of the viewing
situation which the author cannot know. The only *reliable*
information which you have is that readers have either chosen, or at
least consented to, the current normal text size setting of their
browser, whatever it may be.
regards
[1] Folks like us have no problem with choosing a web browser (e.g
Mozilla) and setting it to disregard font settings below a certain
minimum; but if you're worrying about MSIE users who have little idea
about the features of their browser, you can't assume they'd be able
to use any such features. If their reading is hampered by erratic
font sizing from authors, the best their browser offers them is to
disregard all author-specified font size settings, but can they find
that option? It's somewhat concealed under accessibility features,
and I've had several unsolicited emails from MSIE users who wanted to
thank me for a web page of mine which, amongst other things, explains
where to find it - so I think it's fair to deduce that readers are
having a hard time finding it without help.
.
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