why do you get a special font?

He doesn't use the "Quick Reply" and chooses what font he wants to use. Like me, right now, I'm using comic sans.

yes i know how to change fonts. :rolleyes:

the question is 'why is he so special that gets his own font?' kind of like how whatsherface used colors in every post.

It has been firmly established in other threads that he is much better than anyone else on sciforums and in a league of his own.

This attribute gives the right to use special fonts.

What's special about it?

nothing really

I'll go ahead and take a guess. Let me know, SwedishFish, what I fail to cover.

(An editorial note unrelated to this topic: Every once in a while, I get into discussions where the idea of "thinking for" other people comes up. I choose to point this occasion out, as it is quite neutralized. I have a pretty good idea of what the topic refers to, but I don't know exactly. Hence, I'll take a guess, and if I miss, S/F can correct me. In more acrimonious discussions, however, such speculation is inadvisable.)

It's not that I get anything special. It just occurred to me to try something. The story so far:

(1) I have come, over time, to have minor issues with the default font. This comes from looking at it on various systems for so long.
(2) Rather than complain about it, I figure to simply make my own posts presentable to my own eye.
(3) I was happy with my arrangement of Trebuchet MS (primary) and Times New Roman/Georgia (block quote) until two things happened: I saw it on a specific PC (WinME), and someone mentioned they were having difficulty reading the font.
(4) The obvious thing, to me, seemed to go with a fixed-width font.
(5) Courier New, for some reason, is gray and not black in OSX. I like its general shape, but the color makes it an easy candidate for eyestrain.
(6) The prior version of Sciforums used Times and not Times New Roman. I erroneously tagged for Times on one occasion and realized that it worked, anyway. My browser showed Times and not Times New Roman.
(7) I decided to try Courier instead of Courier New.

My concern is that the fonts don't show up equally (or at all, in some cases) across platforms; I can't tell you how shocked I was to see the Trebuchet/TNR combination on that particular PC.

But you can stick any font in the tag you want; it's all a matter of whether or not your computer (or others) can show it.

Just as a test, what does this paragraph look like on other computers? I've tagged it Futura, which is actually a font I use sometimes when composing in my Text Editor because it's clean and compact. It shows just fine on OSX in Safari.

I can see your last paragraph

I tried wingdings font, but it doesn't work

neither does symbols...

webdings...nothing...

CORRECTION: It doesn't work for Opera. It works for IE.

Different fonts suck.:D
I'd vote to remove the font option.
Just as a test, what does this paragraph look like on other computers? I've tagged it Futura, which is actually a font I use sometimes when composing in my Text Editor because it's clean and compact. It shows just fine on OSX in Safari.
That's much better!

ah thank you sir. that explained it quite thoroughly.

<font face="Georgia" style="font-size: 13px">Since we're talking about fonts, I've been thinking about changing the default font to Georgia, which is the font I'm using right now. I haven't a clue how good it looks on Windows, but it seems quite popular on the web so it can't be terrible. Any thoughts?

I especially like the appearance of numbers 1234567890</font>

Looks good on my Mac, but a bit jagged on Windows.

:m: Peace.

Yes, a bit jagged would be a good description. A bit uneasy on the eye.

The best font is the one that is easy on the eyes to read. The fonts tiassa uses fail in this regard.

This font that is used now is perfectly OK, it is very readable.
Sans serif fonts are much easier to read on the screen than serif, at least to my eyes. :D

I would opt for Courier, or Desdemona...or Euro style my favs.

The best font is the one that is easy on the eyes to read. The fonts tiassa uses fail in this regard.It's true. Big and ugly is the only thing people on the web seem to be capable of reading. It's reasonable on a Mac because of our font smoothing, but I have yet to see a PC that makes this font comfortable to the eye. Nothing is uglier or less pleasant to my reading eye than sans serif on paper. 5% coverage is 5% coverage, until of course you talk about distribution.

Maybe it's a simple difference: I learned to read from paper; staring at an electronic representation while learning to read was optional and considered a risky supplement. These days it's essential. But when I stare at blocks of sans serif type long enough, the background voids--the "white spaces" on the page actually become more prominent and the text breaks down into a snowy haze. Serifs break the monotony of the type. It's not just sheer arrogance that moved so many printers to fashion so many serif typefaces.

If anyone wants to start a topic taking screenshots of the fonts, that would be helpful.

Some notes:

• Porfiry: I like Trebuchet, as well, but Georgia looks fantastic. I know that someone told me recently that my use of Trebuchet appeared too small on their machine, and I also know that everything looked "backwards" on an ePC with WinME installed on it (tagging the quotes for size 3 created an enormous font). Incidentally, Georgia looks terrible on some PC's, no matter how good it looks on a Mac. I hadn't realized this until a couple weeks ago.

• I'm curious about how other websites look to people. I keep my text-size buttons on my toolbar because where I've got things set right now shows Sciforums, an adequate number of news-media sites, and the majority of professional or non-recreational sites I visit just fine. Occasionally, I have to jack the text size for websites here and there. By and large, though, I don't have to adjust much. I know a couple of fonts that show on both Mac and PC show differently--smaller, uglier--on a PC, but I'm still confused at the idea that Trebuchet or any other font looks too "small" compared to what the rest of the web looks like for those folks.

• I like Georgia; it's attractive and rather easy on my eye. I've tried Times, Times New, Courier, Courier New, Trebuchet, Verdana ... a couple of others. I try to use fonts that I know are available on other platforms. (For instance, I don't know how many PC users can see this in its chosen font - Apple Chancery.)

• I'm a Mac user; it strikes me, as I look around, how damned impressively much I see our current Sciforums default font. For me, the primary problem with the default is that I'm sick of looking at it all the time. At this moment, Lucida is present (A) on my desktop, as I am not a Mac user who keeps all folders and aliases off the desktop; (B) in the tree when I open up one of those windows; (C) it is the default display for the untagged post preview I'm writing right now; (D) it is also the font inside the composition window on Sciforums.

• Which is what a sans serif font is good for: a clean list. A label. But not blocks of text. There's a reason publishers don't print the news articles in Arial or Gill Sans; there's a reason novels are printed with serif fonts.

• I'm aware that one or another font that shows across platforms doesn't always look good on the other. I'm willing to hop around some, but I happily declare that I won't be happy with the default font unless the default font makes me happy.

• Also, it makes it easier, I've found, for me to find my own posts. This can become important when someone is asking you to root around a hundred posts ago in order to find some obscure information they lack. And, given the amount of time I spend, in the end reading and re-reading my own posts at other people's requests, I'm inclined to focus on my own user experience at some point. I want to be accommodating on the aesthetics, but I can't always apologize for someone else's system.

I like Arial Narrow myself.

I find this thread quite extraordinary, and rather dumbfounding.

swede says:

why do you (tiassa) get a special font

implying that a special font is somehow given to tiassa, and one could draw the conclusion from swede's remark that she isn't aware that tiassa is simply choosing a different font as can any member, and when this is pointed out to her by coffee, she says:

yes i know how to change fonts.

the question is 'why is he so special that gets his own font?' kind of like how whatsherface used colors in every post.
now this reply increases swede's level of apparent stupidity, since she says she is aware of the groundbreaking concept of "font selection" she still then carries on asking the question:

"But why does he get his own font?"

he doesn't GET his own font dear, he CHOOSES to CHANGE his font by his own accord.

Do you mean to ask WHY does tiassa choose a different font?

Outlandish

Did it ever occur to you that a hint of sarcasm was present in the intial question by Swedishfish? As in Only Tiassa chooses to change font and the rest of the posters do not, so she observes that, as we all did, and asks the question in a sarcastic manner. She realizes, as well all did, that we can change fonts but she sarcastically questions Tiassa's self adopted style to stand out in his font usuage just like Bebelina did with her color usage.

now this reply increases swede's level of apparent stupidity

Funny you should mention stupidity.

Outlandish

Part of the issue, inasmuch as I can tell, is that I use a font that's not readily available from the menu. I think that was what was most puzzling. Nobody said anything except to tell me now and then that a font was illegible on their system, but this topic arises days after I switch from Trebuchet (available on menu) to Courier (not available).

In fact, that's exactly why I sort of ducked the question the first time around; I knew there was a reason why the question shouldn't annoy me. It actually took me a few minutes to figure out. Any doubt I had existing beyond that was of my own doing; I chose to not invoke the sarcasm Sarge perceives. The Bebelina note I passed on; the only commonality is that our typefaces aren't default--the motivations, generally, seem different.

I think if we're going to consider assertions of the character of this topic, we might look to our topic poster's satsifaction at the explanation eventually given, and allow the relationships of that portion to stand as the most apparent testament.

damn. shes not stupid after all.

mustnt jump the gun.

Doesn't mean I don't miss occasionally. I'm glad nobody noticed.

Doesn't mean I don't miss occasionally. I'm glad nobody noticed.
Pfffttt...they notice everytime when it comes to me. Trying not to be stupid is hard. :(

this should in no way be misconstrued as me not being stupid. but in this case that's all i wanted to know. i don't begrudge mr. tiassa his own font.

test?

Are there any fonts besides the ones on the drop-down window available?

Edit: Apparently so. I found a new font to use. Heh heh heh ...

What font is it? Is it in your post?

If so, it's not showing on my iMac.

Note on Edit: The above lines are posted in "Beijing," a font that I actually have no particular affection for, but I figured since we're playing with fonts, we ought to see what folks can see.

Sarge

I'm curious--if you watch closely, what are they catching? At first I was going to note that I know how you feel; that's why I'm glad I got away with one. But then I remembered that one of the things that amuses me about such mistakes is that I'm often stunned at what people pick out.

Just a thought. But yeah, people usually catch mine, especially misattributions. I've been nailed before in less time than it takes me to immediately recognize the error and fix the post. Of course ....

(This post tagged for "American Typewriter," a fixed-width font that I know shows on Apple, but .... Oh, hey ... the preview shows that this font has no standard italic. Oh, wait ... I'm supposed to know that already; it's why I don't use it elsewhere.)

Being different is bad-ass.

Ergo, I am a bad-ass.

You know you love it.

Rappaccini

Is there a special font on that, or were you just sounding off for the hell of it?

(Not that there's any requirement to be testing fonts, but I thought I'd ask.)

• This post is tagged for "Didot." Hell, I'm officially doing this for my own amusement now. I'll look it up on a PC later.

Edit:

Note for (Q) - And you thought the fonts I was using were hard to read? Now this is a font that's tough to read on my screen. Wow. It looks better in my text editor, prints nicely. But I sure as hell don't want to read Didot off my screen.

What font is it? Is it in your post?

If so, it's not showing on my iMac.

Note on Edit: The above lines are posted in "Beijing," a font that I actually have no particular affection for, but I figured since we're playing with fonts, we ought to see what folks can see.



Actually, I'm using "MS Serif." I guess it doesn't appear on iMacs. Your font, Beijing, isn't showing up here, either. Neither is your Didot font. *shrug*

I find the font Tiassa uses rather annoying, and as a general rule look over all the messages. sorry

over look rather... :p

ps......Tahoma rocks!


it is by far and away the best and most readable font available in standard options

I figured as much. That's why I liked working with Times, TNR, Courier, Trebuchet, and Georgia; I knew those showed across platforms. Verdana, as well.

What's funny is that, after all this time, I've finally revisited a classic font for Mac users, Palatino (separate from "Palatino Linotype" in the fonts menu), which has always printed reasonably nicely, but looks damn spectacular on the monitor nowadays. (I hadn't really played with it in all this time since OSX came out; I had no idea how good it looked.)

But I was (not entirely) surprised to look around and find I didn't have Garamond on my computer, or Tahoma. Maybe we ought to skip testing fonts for a while and just have people lay out lists of fonts.

For instance, in my Text Editor:

American Typewriter
Andale Mono
Arial
Arial Black
Arial Narrow
Arial Rounded MT Bold
Aristocrat LET
Baskerville
Beijing
Bertram LET
Bickley Script LET
Big Caslon
BlairMdITC TT
Bodoni Ornaments ITC TT
Bodoni SvtyTwo ITC TT
Bodoni SvtyTwo OS ITC TT
Bordeaux Roman Bold LET
Bradley Hand ITC TT
Brush Script MT
Capitals
Chalkboard
Charcoal
Chicago
Cochin
Comic Sans MS
Copperplate
Courier
Courier New
Didot
Futura
Gadget
Geneva
Georgia
Gill Sans
Hei
Helvetica
Helvetica Neue
Herculanum
Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro
Hiragino Kaku Gothic Std
Hiragino Maru Gothic Pro
Hiragino Mincho Pro
Hoefler Text
Humana Serif ITC TT
Humana Serif MD ITC TT
Impact
Jokerman LET
Lucida Grande
LunalTC TT
Machine ITC TT
Marker Felt
Monaco
Mona Lisa Solid ITC TT
MT Extra
New York
Optima
Osaka
Palatino
Papyrus
Party LET
PortagoITC TT
Sand
Skia
SPIonic
SPTiberian
STHeiti
Stone Sans ITC TT
Stone Sans OS ITC TT
Stone Sans Sem ITC TT
Stone Sans Sem OS ITCTT
Stone Sans Sem OS ITC TT
Stone Sans Sem SC ITC TT
Symbol
Taipei
Techno
Textile
Times
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
TremorITC TT
Verdana
VT100
Wanted LET
Webdings
Wingdings
Zapf Dingbats
Zapfino
Apple Chancery
AppleGothic
Apple LiGothic
Monotype Sorts

As far as I know, those should show on Macs.

How many lists will there need to be for PC's? What's our Linux count around here?

• Tagged in Palatino. (What else?) :cool:

How'd you list them? Being technologically impeded, I'm tempted to try to copy+paste the list of my fonts from my word processor right to here ... but that doesn't work. Alas, such is life...

How'd you list them? Being technologically impeded, I'm tempted to try to copy+paste the list of my fonts from my word processor right to here ... but that doesn't work. Alas, such is life...

Your new font doesn't read very nicely.

How'd you list them? Honestly? The long way.

(Just for the hell of it, this post is tagged in Charcoal and Chicago.)

tiassa

Garamond - try it.

what's wrong with Tahoma? i think it's good, i'm saying it again.

How'd you list them? Being technologically impeded, I'm tempted to try to copy+paste the list of my fonts from my word processor right to here ... but that doesn't work. Alas, such is life...Your new font doesn't read very nicely.
But I like it nonetheless.
Honestly? The long way.
Yikes. Well, I don't have the patience to do that. ;)