• Re: [telecom] Please critique the new online version of the Telecom Dig

    From Bill Horne@21:1/5 to Fred Goldstein on Mon Oct 3 23:30:13 2022
    On Mon, Oct 03, 2022 at 08:46:37AM -0400, Fred Goldstein wrote:
    On 10/1/2022 3:46 PM, Bill Horne wrote:

    The "online" version of the Telecom Digest is now ready for Beta
    test, and I need your help.

    The new version is at https://telecomdigest.net/rsi/latest-issue.html .
    Please let me know what your opinions are concerning the web-based
    version, and answer these questions for me:

    1. Is it readable on your device, and if not, why not?

    2. Does it present a professional appearance? In other words, does it look good?

    3. What would you change if you could? Why?

    I don't like the white text on black background. It is harder to
    read than black on white properly rendered. The text is also a notch
    too large. I don't like tiny text but the current text is too
    large. Sans-serif is also harder to read than serif typefaces. Look
    at the Boston Globe site (articles, not home page) for an example of
    readable text -- note the type is a bit tighter and smaller but
    retains wide leading (space between lines).

    I'm sorry, Bill, but it looks like Geocities called from 1998 and wants its designs back.

    Well, I NEVER! ...

    ... took a course in typography, or learned how to run a Linotype
    machine. ;-)

    But, seriously: I was so impressed with the increase in readability I
    got by enabling "High Contrast" in Windows 10, that I decided to try white-text-on-black-background for the "online" version of the Digest.

    My eyes are old, and I've had cataract surgery, and I'm probably not
    the "typical" web-page reader. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm
    doing something unproductive: younger eyes are more adaptable, and the
    whole idea is to make the page easily readable by *EVERYONE* - so I'll
    crabwalk a bit, and ask that other readers with more expertise on
    these matters than I contribute their suggestions for improvements.

    To keep the debate focused on essentials, we'll stick to a single
    issue and make only suggested changes. The list of changes is at -

    http://telecomdigest.net/rsi/experiment.html

    ... and readers can click through to any of the demo pages.

    Bill Horne, writing only for himself as a self-taught, slightly
    out-of-date web designer.

    P.S. Geocities? REALLY? I'm going to ask Northeastern University to
    revive the lynx machine: we'll set the WayBack machine to 1982!

    --
    (Please remove QRM from my email address to send mail to my personal account)

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  • From Fred Goldstein@21:1/5 to Bill Horne on Mon Oct 3 08:46:37 2022
    This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
    On 10/1/2022 3:46 PM, Bill Horne wrote:
    The "online" version of the Telecom Digest is now ready for Beta test, and I need your help.

    The new version is athttps://telecomdigest.net/rsi/latest-issue.html . Please let me know what your opinions are concerning the web-based
    version, and answer these questions for me:

    1. Is it readable on your device, and if not, why not?

    2. Does it present a professional appearance? In other words, does it look good?

    3. What would you change if you could? Why?

    I don't like the white text on black background. It is harder to read
    than black on white properly rendered.  The text is also a notch too
    large. I don't like tiny text but the current text is too large.
    Sans-serif is also harder to read than serif typefaces.  Look at the
    Boston Globe site (articles, not home page) for an example of readable
    text -- note the type is a bit tighter and smaller but retains wide
    leading (space between lines).

    I'm sorry, Bill, but it looks like Geocities called from 1998 and wants
    its designs back.

    --
    Fred R. Goldstein k1io fred "at" interisle.net
    Interisle Consulting Group
    +1 617 795 2701

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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/1/2022 3:46 PM, Bill Horne wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
    cite="mid:20221001194612.GA449316@telecomdigest.us">
    <pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">The "online" version of the Telecom Digest is now ready for Beta test, and I need your help.

    The new version is at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://telecomdigest.net/rsi/latest-issue.html">https://telecomdigest.net/rsi/latest-issue.html</a> .
    Please let me know what your opinions are concerning the web-based
    version, and answer these questions for me:

    1. Is it readable on your device, and if not, why not?

    2. Does it present a professional appearance? In other words, does it look good?

    3. What would you change if you could? Why?
    </pre>
    </blockquote>
    <br>
    I don't like the white text on black background. It is harder to
    read than black on white properly rendered.  The text is also a
    notch too large. I don't like tiny text but the current text is too 
    large. Sans-serif is also harder to read than serif typefaces.  Look
    at the Boston Globe site (articles, not home page) for an example of
    readable text -- note the type is a bit tighter and smaller but
    retains wide leading (space between lines).<br>
    <br>
    I'm sorry, Bill, but it looks like Geocities called from 1998 and
    wants its designs back.<br>
    <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
    Fred R. Goldstein k1io fred "at" interisle.net
    Interisle Consulting Group
    +1 617 795 2701</pre>
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