Hacker News Reader

Comment by jstimpfle | Hacker News Reader

> font-size: 1.9rem;

I know it's hip these days, but seriously: 2 times my browser's default font size does not improve readability for me.

Using a sans-serif font for long form is not the best choice either

There's not really any evidence for or against that. On lower-resolution screens, sans-serif fonts may be more readable for longform, since serifs often get a bit fuzzy.

On my desktop browser, the font shows ~100 characters per line, which is a bit more than what I've seen the recommended count be for ideal readability:

http://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability

Font size was never supposed to control characters-per-line. You can set the line width instead (I suppose the best approach is to use rem as unit. I've tried em in the past but it breaks for headings).

It should be assumed that the default size configured in the browser is a comfortable size. Overriding to twice that is idiotic.

Text reading on modern systems has gotten really uncomfortable. I constantly have to switch between text sizes in a range of factor three or more (still use xterm with default bitmap fonts), and most web and UI fonts are way too large and have too much spacing. It's a strain on the eyes and a waste of screen estate.

That has nothing to do with the font size. It just means you have a big (wide) browser window or monitor.

The problem here is some sites having such large text in relation to the web generally, or your OS, that it's ridiculous. The solution is:

- Stick to normal font sizes

- Set a max-width for the text to fit the right number of characters per line

- If users want bigger text, let them change their OS resolution settings or browser default zoom settings

Does that not depend significantly on physical screen size, though? I'd imagine that you'd want fewer larger words per line on a phone screen than you'd want on a 24" monitor.

I think the only reasonable approach applications can take is to layout everything in physical sizes, and to be largely unassuming about the display device (i.e. assume a standard (desktop monitor?) viewing distance). In consequence a sensible default font size would be something like 14pt, etc.

If the results aren't suitable (maybe a desktop monitor is viewed at a larger distance than a phone screen, maybe user is visually impaired, etc) then the OS can still offer to globally or locally configure the screen with a fake dpi.

I'm getting downvoted but I agree with the downvotes (because font-size != chars per line). However, in this case, the site in question has a max-width for the text column. I have a very wide screen but the text column is locked after going past whatever the media query is for iPad-vertical width.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com