Knut Krueger said:
Using the default fonsize makes the pages "old fashioned" - not only my
words - but the words of other useres
What the solution for that in your opinion.
I understand your concerns 100%. I have come across it with
clients and users. There is no "solution" in the sense of a magic
bullet. Complex problems require complex solutions.
There are a number of quite difficult issues involved and you
cannot hope to resolve them by your own action. The problem is a
social one that has developed over time because of practices that
were unfortunate to begin with and because of general ignorance
on the part of website viewers of the controls on their own
browsers. There is nothing much you can do to turn this big ship
around. You are too small (as are we all, individually).
What you have to be concerned with is what you will set your font
sizes at. If you make a principled stand and set 100% for body
text and no less generally than .85 for some other important
things like navigation, you will sleep easy knowing you have not
contributed to the madness of the arms race.
Arms race? It works like this. Some authors make font-sizes
small. They make attractive enough web-sites. Other do the same.
They all have plenty to say and do and it all fits in the page
easier. It was a particularly young people's game the www.
Whatever. A trend is established and the browser manufacturers'
default for the browser and/or the user or the user's agents
settings are for web-sites as they are (not as they should be
according to the 'best practice' recommendations of such groups
as here on alt.html). So when a best practice site come along,
quite the minority it would seem, it looks "too big" to eyes
otherwise accustomed.
The people in this newsgroup will not tend to increase their
font-sizes at the options or preferences level of their browser
for a number of reasons. One reason is they are loathe to bow
down to a stupid mindless trend and would prefer to use their
'tactical' controls (like 'command +' or 'alt +') as and when
they have trouble reading sites with small fonts (like e.g.. A
List Apart!).
Another big reason is that we are website makers. We make
web-sites and want to see our efforts at a 'normal for us'
comfortable scale. That is 100%. That is rationality.
Rationality? Rational, because if every author did this and every
user set their browser's 'strategic' font-sizes (in Option or
Preference panels), everyone would see the text at a size that
was comfortable for them.
But this 'rational' world is not the world we live in and so you
are faced with some difficult personal choices. Some website
makers go down the path of following (and thereby confirming) the
bad trend but *perhaps/probably* keeping *most* people happy.
Leaving the less well sighted to adjust their browsers.
It is rational for the user to adjust their browsers so that the
majority of the sites they look at seem good and comfortable for
them. These users will find the 100% author's efforts 'too big'
and have to use their 'tactical' mouse or keyboard controls on
these sites (to make the text smaller!)
There is another very big factor and that is design. While 100%
text might look too big in one design, it will not be so in
another design. So look to your design to lessen the problem you
face. make it seem more natural. I will not go into this further
here as I am not confident anyone is still reading! <g>
The other thing you can do that is not as good as above, is to
put in a prominent control: "Text too small? Click this" where
the this is a text enlarging icon. It is a practice some people
use. You can then go for the 92% (you mention later in the
thread) and give the inexperienced user an easy way to go up.