Funny Font Annecdote and Lesson

[Adrienne Boswell]

I inherited a website from my boss, who has Palantino on her computer.

I don't have Palantino on my computer at work, or my computer at home.
My default font is Comic Sans, so when I started working on the site, I
saw the headings appeared Comic Sans, and that is how I wrote the
headings in the new stylesheet {font-family: "Comic Sans", arial,
helvetica, sans-serif}.

When I presented this to my boss, she screamed "But you KNOW all of our
headings are in Palantino!" I said, I didn't know that, because all I
ever saw was my default font. I explained that since I didn't have that
font, and since there was no fallback font, I saw my default.

Of course, now it's {font-family: "Palatino Linotype", "Times New
Roman", Times, serif;}. I still only see Times New Roman, and
personally, I liked it better with Comic Sans.

So, the lesson here is to ALWAYS include a fallback and the appropriate
generic font.

 

[Harlan Messinger]

I inherited a website from my boss, who has Palantino on her computer.

I don't have Palantino on my computer at work, or my computer at home.
My default font is Comic Sans, so when I started working on the site, I
saw the headings appeared Comic Sans, and that is how I wrote the
headings in the new stylesheet {font-family: "Comic Sans", arial,
helvetica, sans-serif}.

When I presented this to my boss, she screamed "But you KNOW all of our
headings are in Palantino!" I said, I didn't know that, because all I
ever saw was my default font. I explained that since I didn't have that
font, and since there was no fallback font, I saw my default.

Of course, now it's {font-family: "Palatino Linotype", "Times New
Roman", Times, serif;}. I still only see Times New Roman, and
personally, I liked it better with Comic Sans.

So, the lesson here is to ALWAYS include a fallback and the appropriate
generic font.

I learned a similar lesson years ago when I was editing a newsletter and
someone submitted an ad as a Word document with a collection of embedded
text boxes used for positioning. I thought the choice of fonts and the
layout were really weird but I dutifully converted the document to PDF
format and from there into a graphics file that I cropped and included
in the newsletter, before realizing that the funny fonts and layout
weren't intentional. The advertiser had been expressing his creativity
by tinkering with fancy fonts and didn't realize that (a) not everyone
has them and (b) they don't convey with the Word document.

From that point on whenever I'd receive copy in Word format I'd convert
it to PDF and send it back with the question, "Is this OK?" I also
learned to check PDFs submitted to me to make sure the fonts were embedded.

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit Adrienne Boswell:

I inherited a website from my boss, who has Palantino on her computer.

I bet you mean "Palatino Linotype" (which is what you use later in your
message). Most of the readers here are humans, so it's not a big issue,
but those stupid computers don't really get these things. Actually, it
can be worse: some programs interpret misspelled font names according to
what they think the web page author meant, some don't.

My default font is Comic Sans,

Good for you for some investigation purposes, since you'll immediately
see that some page is not setting font family or, in rare cases, setting
it to Comic Sans, for some odd reason. It's not that good for actual
browsing, especially if you are oriented towards actually reading texts
on web pages.

Of course, now it's {font-family: "Palatino Linotype", "Times New
Roman", Times, serif;}. I still only see Times New Roman, and
personally, I liked it better with Comic Sans.

So you are suggesting that browsers primarily display your page using
Palatino Linotype but you haven't actually checked how they look like
when presented that way?

Including Times after Times New Roman sounds pointless. Hands up, has
someone ever seen a system _with_ Times but _without_ Times New Roman? A
system without either of them is imaginable, so the serif fallback makes
sense, _assuming_ that you have some reasonable reason for preferring a
serif font even against the user's choice of basic font.

Palatino Linotype is not very close to Times New Roman. Book Antiqua
would be a closer substitute, I think, and so would Georgia, if you
accept its lowercase ("old-style") digits. Times New Roman is more
condensed and looks smaller. I think the odds are that a system's
default serif font is _either_ Times New Roman _or_ something more
similar to Palatino Linotype than TNR is.

So I'd say that { font-family: "Palatino Linotype", serif; } is enough.

So, the lesson here is to ALWAYS include a fallback and the
appropriate generic font.

Is it? How many users actually select some _strange_ font as their
browser's default font? How many of them actually _want_ to see text in
that font when pages don't specify their own font?

 

[Jeff]

Scripsit Adrienne Boswell:

So you are suggesting that browsers primarily display your page using
Palatino Linotype but you haven't actually checked how they look like
when presented that way?

I think we all get a bit jaded, particularly when working with someone
else's design! This hasn't happened to you?

Including Times after Times New Roman sounds pointless. Hands up, has
someone ever seen a system _with_ Times but _without_ Times New Roman? A
system without either of them is imaginable, so the serif fallback makes
sense, _assuming_ that you have some reasonable reason for preferring a
serif font even against the user's choice of basic font.

Palatino Linotype is not very close to Times New Roman. Book Antiqua
would be a closer substitute, I think, and so would Georgia, if you
accept its lowercase ("old-style") digits. Times New Roman is more
condensed and looks smaller. I think the odds are that a system's
default serif font is _either_ Times New Roman _or_ something more
similar to Palatino Linotype than TNR is.

I'm getting a little tired of using Verdana and Times. What's your
take on expanding the font list to something like shown here:

<URL: http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html />

Oh, note that there is not ordinarily a Palatino Linotype on the Mac
but Palatino.

Jeff

 

[Bergamot]

My default font is Comic Sans

I don't think you should have admitted this, at least not in this group.

 

[Neredbojias]

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:11:51 GMT
Adrienne Boswell scribed:

I inherited a website from my boss, who has Palantino on her computer.

I don't have Palantino on my computer at work, or my computer at home.
My default font is Comic Sans, so when I started working on the site, I
saw the headings appeared Comic Sans, and that is how I wrote the
headings in the new stylesheet {font-family: "Comic Sans", arial,
helvetica, sans-serif}.

When I presented this to my boss, she screamed "But you KNOW all of our
headings are in Palantino!"

Ah yes, now I see your problem. Well, that's what you get when you put
females in positions of authority. I'd quit and go work for a man who will
probably allow you to screw up a bit if you flirt in just the right manner.

I said, I didn't know that, because all I
ever saw was my default font. I explained that since I didn't have that
font, and since there was no fallback font, I saw my default.

Of course, now it's {font-family: "Palatino Linotype", "Times New
Roman", Times, serif;}. I still only see Times New Roman, and
personally, I liked it better with Comic Sans.

So, the lesson here is to ALWAYS include a fallback and the appropriate
generic font.

<yawn> So what else is new?

 

[dorayme]

Most of the readers here are humans, so

....

I saw this. Nothing escapes my antennae.

 

[dorayme]

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:11:51 GMT
Adrienne Boswell scribed:


Ah yes, now I see your problem. Well, that's what you get when you put
females in positions of authority. I'd quit and go work for a man who will
probably allow you to screw up a bit if you flirt in just the right manner.

Boji, is there a lake near you?

<yawn> So what else is new?

Boji, did I ask you before: Is there a lake near you? Maybe I
forgot to say, why don't you go and jump into it.

 

[Adrienne Boswell]

I don't think you should have admitted this, at least not in this group.

Actually, it's a nice font for browsing. IIRC, it was someone here who
suggested it many, many moons ago.

 

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

[ ... ]

Including Times after Times New Roman sounds pointless. Hands up, has
someone ever seen a system _with_ Times but _without_ Times New Roman?
...

Many millions of people could raise their hands if they saw your
question. Anyone who used the MacOS before System 7 will have worked on
a system with Times but without Times New Roman.

 

[Bergamot]

it's a nice font for browsing.

"Nice" is pretty subjective. Every time I saw Comic Sans on a web page
by brain screamed

CHEESY AMATEUR FRONTPAGE TEMPLATE!!

Rather than go insane or blind from looking at Comic Sans, I chose to
expunge it from my system. The web is a nicer place without it.

 

[Neredbojias]

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:42:23 GMT
Bergamot scribed:

"Nice" is pretty subjective. Every time I saw Comic Sans on a web page
by brain screamed

CHEESY AMATEUR FRONTPAGE TEMPLATE!!

Rather than go insane or blind from looking at Comic Sans, I chose to
expunge it from my system. The web is a nicer place without it.

Just because there is something wrong with your brain is no reason to knock
a very fine, readable font, Froggy. My entire home page used to be in
Comic Sans MS and it was very attractive and easy to peruse. Furthermore,
it is the definitive font for drunks and addicts. For them, the physical
law of negative interference renders it considerably more readable than any
other font.

 

[Travis Newbury]

I inherited a website from my boss, who has Palantino on her computer.
I don't have Palantino on my computer at work, or my computer at home.
My default font is Comic Sans, so when I started working on the site, I
saw the headings appeared Comic Sans, and that is how I wrote the
headings in the new stylesheet {font-family: "Comic Sans", arial,
helvetica, sans-serif}.

I read this and can only think that this is something that could have
EASILY been avoided.

You knew you had a default font of comic sans. When the heading
appeared in comic sans that should have triggered something in your
head that said "hmmm... how interesting they choose the same font for
the heading that I had as my default. And what a weird choice for a
company font."

At that point you should have confronted her and asked about the
fonts. You committed one of the biggest sins of developers. You
assumed something.

Oh, this is not a slam at you at all. It is just an observation. And
even I have made wrong assumptions once or twice (this week)

 

[Adrienne Boswell]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed Travis Newbury

I read this and can only think that this is something that could have
EASILY been avoided.

You knew you had a default font of comic sans. When the heading
appeared in comic sans that should have triggered something in your
head that said "hmmm... how interesting they choose the same font for
the heading that I had as my default. And what a weird choice for a
company font."

At that point you should have confronted her and asked about the
fonts. You committed one of the biggest sins of developers. You
assumed something.

Oh, this is not a slam at you at all. It is just an observation. And
even I have made wrong assumptions once or twice (this week)

Normally, I would agree with you. However, The Character and Ethics
Project is a local organization that works with the Glendale School
District - one of their biggest fund raisers is the annual calendar, and
the images for the calendar are drawn by local Glendale school children
- all in grades K through 6. So, Comic Sans would have been
appropriate, if not preferred.
[http://ethicsproject.org/beta/respect.php] is one of the words of the
month (calendar has dummy values right now).

Now, if it were ABC Widget Corporation, I would have wondered, and
asked, if not suggested a more "mature" font.