(Dec 1, 2021 10:41 PM)Leigha Wrote: Out of the choices offered here at sci-village, my favorite would have to be ''Georgia,'' but I'm not sure if I can set it to default to that each time I post.
Currently there isn't anyway native to the forum software to apply on a per user basis a font "personality". It might be something that could be added which I might take a look at, but usually something that appears simple tends to be wrapped in awkwardness.
The way the fonts work on the forum is there is a CSS entry of:
Code:
#container {font-family:Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif,Trebuchet MS;}
That defines the default fonts. The reason for so many named ones is it's based upon what fonts are installed to the OS/browser. It will use the first available one for the name sake.
You can override the websites fonts using your browser (e.g. FireFox: Settings>Language&Appearance> Advanced... Edge doesn't appear to have such depth to control.)
Another override approach would be if I created a couple more "Themes" which are nearly identical but just have font changes, then you can pick the theme you are comfortable with. That of course would make all the sites text that font, not just your own.
For a more customised way of applying fonts as "Personalities" it would likely require adding a class in CSS which would be identified per post for a users, then require having a way for a person to select how their particularly tailored class is effected (namely which font they want), however the problem with that is sometimes people prefer overriding the font change for clarity.
An alternative way might be to initialise the post/response box with the font of choice during posting (which you could choose to override)
The rule of thumb to most site design though is to keep it as clear of clutter as possible (which is difficult with forum software). It is likely why the current design is to only add font choice based upon the users decision at time of posting rather than enforcing a "personality" structure.
As for which font I'd pick. I tend to prefer Kerned font's for computer screens (Sans) over print-type font (
Serif) (Originally such fonts would have pixel shading attempt to handle the accenting which didn't look particularly great on a screen, over the years however DPI and the method [vector] applied to processing the fonts have changed). Ideally for reading on a screen (or even in print) a
monospace type is prefered to equalize distance and lessen misreading, as well as applying the right size.
Currently
monospace type fonts aren't the default on the forum as to have a whole site and it's navigation dominated by it can look quite odd, and would of likely looked a lot worse if trying to blend monospace type as a body with something stylised for navigation. (
monospace tends to used for the code tags on this forum)
As for the size... Well it doesn't matter what size is put, there is always an option to enlarge the font where necessary (even in email readers). A lot has changed over the years in regards to sizing conventions, for instance this forum uses a default size of 14px in posts. It's based on pixels and as standard that means the larger the screen you read it on (and the more DPI) the smaller the font will look. So while it might fit perfectly on your screen, it could be a pixel on someone elses.
Personally I tend to limit my emails to only be shown in plaintext with no HTML/CSS altering it. That does mean sometimes I have to mess around to understand what the email said since a whole bunch of stuff gets stripped out, but for the most part it's clear and concise.
Dec 1, 2021 05:55 PM
(This post was last modified: Dec 1, 2021 06:33 PM by Leigha.)
