On 2008/12/10 09:35 (GMT) Chris Taylor composed: >> From: MEM
>> 2) Not letting the design experience (that should also be for the user) >> be ruined with some default options that the user may have? > I think this is looking at the problem the wrong way. While designers may > have a preferred font size, we have to trust users to set up their > browsers in the way that they want. Maybe many people don't understand > about what the font size settings in their browsers do, but this probably > means that most of them won't have changed the default. Therefore we > should aim for the lowest common denominator - leaving font size at 100%. Thinking of it as "lowest common denominator" is wrong. The default actually in place for any particular user may be: 1-in fact set to her actual preference, and different from that which the browser vendor provided (the browser provided preference was wrong, but is no longer) 2-in fact set to her actual preference, and not different from that which the browser vendor provided (the browser provided preference was, and remains, suitable) 3-not in fact set to her actual preference (the browser provided preference was, and remains, non-optimal) Regardless which of the possibilities applies in any given case, the state may be either smaller, or larger, or the same as, the size preferred by the designer. There's no way to know the state. Any change made by the designer other than in her own browser is thus arbitrary, making the actual impact chaotic: groups 1 & 2 will get something different from their preference, while group three will include a random proportion of people who enjoy a size that makes them happy. The wide variety of hardware available today results in many possible combinations of display size and screen resolution. Each combination results in a net DPI or PPI of random proximity to that used by the designer - the actual size for any user is both unknown and unpredictable. Thus, deferring to the actual browser defaults, whatever they may be, is the only rational choice for body and most content. Text sizing is best reserved for contextual (headings, footers, emphasis, deemphasis, etc.; only made via true relative sizing: keywords, em or %, never px) adjustment only. It provides the least chaotic results, and best possible user experience. There's a bonus to the stylist and host too, as deferring to the defaults produces less need for style rules, which produces less opportunity for unexpected and/or unwanted results to debug, and smaller, easier-to-maintain and lower bandwidth CSS files. -- "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ css-discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/ List policies -- http://css-discuss.org/policies.html Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
