> From: Matt Housh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: OT: fonts in netscape
>
> > The following pages are coded INCORRECTLY:
> >
> > http://jaeger.morpheus.net/
> > http://www.emeraldbiostructures.com/buffers.htm
>
> Just so you know, my page is NOT coded incorrectly. That was
> intentional. (READ: I did it on purpose.)
There's nothing that says it can't be *BOTH* intentional and incorrect. :-)
There seems to be a bit of arrogance and parochialism on both sides of this
argument. Admittedly there seems to be some deliberate antagonism implied
by use of "incorrect", but...
If you use a weird vendor-proprietary font (I say "weird" because "Verdana"
doesn't even show up as a choice in my NT 4.0 Windoze box in either Word or
Outlook) without providing for compatible more-standard substitutes, you're
impairing your communication with a substantial group of readers of your
page (Unless your page happens to be the home page for the Verdana Font Fan
Club). I can sympathize with a desire to have the page have a look that
appeals to your aesthetic senses, but it seems strange to have an
all-or-nothing attitude, saying that if the reader doesn't happen to have
all the same fonts installed that you have, you'd rather have it look
really ugly or unreadable than have a SLIGHT deviation from your ideal.
If the purpose of the page is not to communicate, but rather only to appeal
to your own senses, there's not much point of making it publicly accessible
on the web. Tom Clancy's books wouldn't have had great popularity if he
had published them in Aramaic -- It's not that hard to learn Aramaic, but
not many would bother.
> It's not that hard to install
> the Verdana font (and countless OTHER truetype fonts) under X, and
> that's what I want my page to look like. If you think it's coded
> incorrectly because *YOU* don't like the way it looks or doesn't look,
> that's your personal opinion.
It *is* hard, or even impossible, if one is in an environment where the IT
department or other authority installs and maintains the tools.
If the purpose of having a web page is to communicate with the reader, it's
worth understanding that others may have a different computing environment
than you have and spending a bit of effort to accommodate a wider audience.
You may not want to turn all the photographs into lynx-compatible text
explanations of what's in the picture, but I think that proprietary,
vendor-specific or browser-specific web pages should be avoided if
possible.
Disclaimer: I'm a left-brain person and have less appreciation for visual
subtleties than the majority of other people.
pete peterson
GenRad, Inc.
7 Technology Park Drive
Westford, MA 01886-0033
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
+1-978-589-7478 (GenRad); +1-978-256-5829 (Home: Chelmsford, MA)
+1-978-589-2088 (Closest FAX); +1-978-589-7007 (Main GenRad FAX)
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