Is my font too small?

your font is small, but you can change it easy enough in firefox using increase or decrease. leave it as is. the font-size is defined at 11px btw in the seed CSS. you can change that by adding your own CSS underneath the main one (i've done that, check my source code).

I'm 58 and can read it OK'ish doesnt really matter as I access your posts through RSS - if only I could comment from my reader too.

The problem (upon scrutinising your stylesheet) is that if one uses the ideal solution and sets font size in pixels, IE6/Win disables font scaling completely for that site. The usual solution is to set body { font-size: 76%; } in your stylesheet and then use ems (for which 1em equates to 10px) to size text for all elements under that.

The Firefox extension Read Easily lets you put font up and font down keys on the main toolbar.

I'm an old fogey too, so use that with small print websites.

[Read Easily is nice. However it gets rid of all the formatting, which is a bit disconcerting at first, and all the sidebars go funny too. But, it sorts out the font nicely -W]

both mainstream browsers (IE, Mozilla/Firefox) support the key combination "Control =" or "Control +" (Control-Shift-=) which will instantly increase the font size without shifting graphics.

now, granted, do it too many times and the search text box (which by common standards should be on the right, not left) will expand into the main body, but one or two should be sufficient.

[Aha, thats even better - thanks! -W]

Too small imo.

I'm moderately computer literate, but I've not got into 'rss', so that's out for me as well (and most I guess?). Can't get the key combo to work either...

Might as well make life easy for readers, I can't see much point in making it difficult. So my vote would be for a bit larger.

Roll your mouse scroll button back and forth while holding down Control until the size is just right for your eyes.

WAY TOO SMALL - I am 50+, and am really having trouble reading the SB fonts. I use MSN Explorer, and unfortunately the tips people have mentioned do not work, and the "larger text" selection unde the View Tab, does not work for SB. It is extremely annoying.

They're fine for me -- but I might be a little biased...

I wish I knew why anyone uses Explorer. It's the worst browser on the planet, and life would be so much easier if everyone would ditch that piece of junk and switch to Firefox.

Firefox lets you set a minimum font size, so you don't have to foool around with ctrl-+ every time you come across something that's too small. Where it is depends what version of the browser you're using, but it's in the same place as fonts in general. For me it's Content -> Fonts & Colors -> Advanced.

Joe Shelby: IE6/Win won't do the font-sizing tango on this site because the font size is set in pixels, unless there's been some big update to IE which actually made it competent in the last five years...you know what, nevermind. The acceptable solution (which, if only to placate the 0.1% of users with eyesight so poor they need larger font settings) is to set font-size: 76% on the body and then size in ems.

Current size is fine for me.

[You always were a trouble maker, John :-) -W]

Firefox:

If current font size is fine, do nothing.

If current font size is not fine, hold Control + roll scroll wheel.

Oh, and what PZ Meyers said.

HTH,

D

It's not the size of the font, its the gyration of the animation ;-)

Unfortunately IE still holds a major grip on Internet traffic because 99+% of people just don't care - they can't see beyond the walls of Windows XP and Internet Explorer, and don't see why they should care enough to make the switch to another browser - after all, they reason, why is Internet Explorer any different? Surely they're all just Web browsers.
It's probably the case that the high Firefox usage on this blog (and I daresay other blogs mirrored on SB) is due to its high specificity in its audience.

Hi guys & gals

I'm the reader who was foaming at the mouth--I'm feeling better now, thanks, there's nothing like a good rant to clear the head.

I am *very* familiar with Ctrl-+, and it does enlarge the text but it tends to make the pages look funny. I tend to use "View/Page Style/No Style", but this mucks up layout and can make some pages look really funny. (The text in this edit box is *enormous*).

Call me fussy, call me obsessive, but I think there's something perverse about body { font-size: 76%; }. I mean, if the user has decided that a certain font looks nice, who are you to tell him he should have 76% of it.

But now the Web Standards Project has gone to fonts that are too bloody small, I think I'll give up...

http://www.webstandards.org/

As long as Stoat doesn't switch to a black background...

"If current font size is not fine, hold Control + roll scroll wheel." Wel, shamefully :), I'm using IE and that doesn't work - at least on this site.

Mark: the intention of body { font-size: 76%; } is to set 1em = 10px. That way people can happy size all text in pixels - it's not "76% of the value the user has given for his font" but "76% of the default size of 1em".

Additionally, you might try using the !important qualifier in your custom CSS (assuming you aren't already).

Hearnden:

FF only. Don' work on no IE. And you shouldn't be using IE.

Best,

D

Thanks for the custom CSS tip, Thomas. I'm not using custom CSS right now, as far as I am aware, but perhaps I should. I will look into it.

Hey, Dano, that's rather CAish. I have a first name, Peter - P lease :)

True Peter, but we can't be in CA - there aren't 19 flames after your entry, assiduously nitpicking everything you wrote. Plus, there are smart, attractive women here. ;o)

But many apologies, sir. You shouldn't have to live your life as if the smell follows you wherever you go...

Best,

D

Dano, thanks.

This reply written using Firefox! And, yes, it does seem rather good :)

For all you IE Haters out there: Got IE at work. Period, end of story. SO, the SB fonts ARE too small for me.

It's too small. A website should adhere to certain standards, one being the size of the text. Basically, if the font is smaller than the majority, it's probably too small. What justifies too small? Well, not a half-million subjective opinions of people that get a sortof twisted high off of bragging about how keen their eyesite is and how they're uber-cool Firefox users, but what I stated above - comparison to the majority.

Just make your text look normal like most other web pages. Done...