Fixed-width fonts

[Charlie Reams]

Does anyone actually find the recaps harder to use with the current variable-width font? I have to say it doesn't affect me in the least, but I'm willing to look around for a way to make them fixed-width (like the old Yahoo ones) if anyone actually cares.

[Howard Somerset]

No problem reading them here as they are now. In fact I find the font here makes them more readable than they were on the old yahoo group. So please don't adjust them.

[Conor]

I think you could put them in code tags, but that's probably not the best option.

[David O'Donnell]

I care so little that I don't think I can be bothered to finish th..............

[Joseph Bolas]

No problem reading them here as they are now. In fact I find the font here makes them more readable than they were on the old yahoo group. So please don't adjust them.

I agree with howard on this.

I did have to change it to the fixed-with font sometimes in the mailing list because it was hard to read, but I don't have that problem here .

[DaveC]

To whom it may concern, (the standard and normal way to open polite conversation I understand)

There is a possibility that somebody somewhere found it easier to produce a review using fixed width fonts and perhaps text preformatting. That might have allowed them to express some form of originality or perhaps look back on what they produced and feel happy that it meets their own standard, but I know of no such person.

If such a person did exist they might have been under the mistaken impression that the point of computer systems might be to aid us in our freedoms rather than strip us of them, such as the freedom to present our work as we see fit. Why would anyone want to do that? Fortunately modern approaches are clever and remove such mistakes.

HTML offers the use of tags such as the "pre" tag and choice of common fonts, some of which are fixed width. We have no need for such, so by not having that option everything is much easier, as it saves us having to think about unnecessary things such as having a personal preference. As for knowing exactly when you're going to scroll onto the next line, it's entirely unnecessary. No good to anyone because everything we ever do should be in paragraphs.

Have no fear, society as a whole battles endlessly to iron out any originality anyone might be left with. I'm quite looking forward to sitting in front of Eastenders, McMicrosoft burger in one hand, McHomeopathic-diet-pill in the other, short haircut, mobile phone I'm supposed to own (so I can have opportunities to spend money pursuing material happiness texted to me periodically) and an idiotic smile on my face.

My reviews are always in a variable length font and have one space or none between any element. I'd never consider anything different might offer convenience from the reader or writers point of view, as it clearly won't. I don't have to think about it, the computer told me so.

Dave Coulthurst

[Charlie Reams]

Your comparison to McMicrosoft is straight from the Zef book of ridiculous overstatement. You're still at liberty to prepare the recaps in any font you see fit, but evidently no one wants to read them in fixed-width, so it seems like a straight debate between your creative liberty to, err, make the letters line up underneath each other, and the utility of your work to anyone else. I'm sure you can resolve this dilemma in a way that doesn't require you to surrender your individuality to that vast corporate machine that is online Countdown.

[DaveC]

Hiyo,

Haha, excellent stuff.  He wrote a book? Did he write his name on the inside front cover? I do hope so, I should like to borrow it during Scrabble tournaments.  Lots of fun.  I thought yesterday I agreed with variable width fonts, ah yes, there in the first short paragraph. Now I can't work out whether you agree with me or not.

Very amusing.

DC

Actually, I don't see a font change option, I suspect there is a subset of HTML tags available to use under the code option, of which "font" might be one.  I wonder is there a list somewhere of the ones we are allowed to use.

Font colour seems alright.

[Charlie Reams]

You asked me at Colin to investigate whether phpBB would allow fixed-width fonts. It doesn't, although suitable extensions may exist, so I thought I'd try to gauge whether anyone actually wants to read in fixed-width before spending time finding and installing such a thing. As it's pretty clear that no one wants fixed-width and some people actively prefer variable width, I think I can now save myself the effort.

[Ray Folwell]

I'm not bothered about the font, but it would be nice to have a consistent format for the Subject Line. That would make it easier to pick out a particular review when scanning down the list.

[Charlie Reams]

I suggest something like I did for Stuart's recap; "[Year Month Date]" first, followed by anything else the individual recapper feels is relevant (some people put the series and episode number, etc.) Actually convincing recappers to do this might be trickier.