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From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-05-02 09:12:20


on Tue Apr 01 2008, "Michael Fawcett" <michael.fawcett-AT-gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 12:47 PM, Rene Rivera <grafikrobot_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>>
>> The standard specifies that the font-family is a preference list. Hence
>> the first font found is used. In the above the "Times New Roman" is a
>> Windows font. On other platforms it should select whatever your
>> preferred "serif" font is. The font choice is intentional in that first
>> the times-new-roman is the best displaying built-in serif font on
>> Windows, hence it will show nicely on peoples screens. Second serif is
>> used in the heading since they are easier to read, and the larger size
>> makes them possible, without going overboard with bold or other
>> enhancements.
>
> Honestly the serif fonts are hard to read at smaller resolutions and
> IMHO visually unappealing at any resolution, except when printed. A
> quick Google search shows that web style guides pretty uniformly
> recommend:
>
> Web pages:
> sans-serif font for headlines
> sans-serif or serif font for body text
>
> Web pages meant to be printed (e.g. recipes):
> sans-serif font for headlines
> serif font for body text

I agree with you about serif fonts on webpages (and I have other
misgivings about the current web style), but I'm pretty sure that's a
battle that has been fought and lost already. There was extensive
wrangling before the web style was chosen.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
http://boost-consulting.com

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