Font Size - Individual Needs or Appeal to Masses

[DENKI/IMPULSE]

I think it should appeal to the masses. I'm sorry I just don't want to read tinny light blue font or whatever on like a light purple background. God that would kill my eyes. If you want someone to join your board you should make it easy to read, otherwise people aren't going to bother reading your rules and information.

[Pipamonium]

I try to appeal to individual needs as long as they're reasonable. I run an RP forum that has members ranging from 13 to 50. I have left my font at the original size. While I do find a smaller font looks sleek it is a pain to try and read. I HIGHLY discourage my members changing the size of their text but I do highly encourage members to use various colours. Of course if a colour is hard to see I'll contact them and work with them to find a better hex colour to use so they can still be unique.

By the way, I'm 23 so I frequent a lot of the forums geared towards younger people, I too will leave if they use a small fault. I'm slowly but surly loosing my sight and just don't want to deal with giving myself a headache to read someone else's forum, especially if I don't know if I'll like it yet.

[avanna]

My staff prefers to appeal to the masses. Using gigantic fonts might be useful for some members, but just how many? I'm not ready to compromise the rest of the members preferences, not until I get a complaint at least. I think it is very important to make one's forum visually atractive, and huge fonts simply don't do it for me. I'd rather have medium sized, readable and organized boards and posts. And if someone is uncomfortable with it, I might just add that code Enchant was talking about, and that's that.

[ann1234]

I'm new and not to smart about all this stuff. When a member quotes something to reply to, the quoted is so small we cannot read it. How can I make that font bigger..like a 3. I went in skins, but it's only the style font, not the size. Please..I'm sure this is covered somewhere, but I've been trying to find an answer for 2 hours. How can font sizes be changed..

[sunshine]

I'm a fan of a very fair little mixture. While I do prefer sites defaulted to a size 1 font rather than the usual proboards size 2, I still like for members to be able to change their font sizes at their own whims without it messing up the default text size for the layouts. I found the solution in a very lovely code that set it so that default font size could still be tiny, but members in posts could still change the size as they saw fit.

But as far as meeting individual needs with font sizes, I honestly see absolutely no point in changing the default font size to suit a specific member when there are text size viewing and resizing options that come with every browser I've ever used. If you cannot see our text, make it bigger yourself, don't complain to us about it. Seems much more efficient that way, anyway. xD

[Gia_Sesshoumaru]

I think it's a good idea to find a compromise between the individual's needs, and the masses needs. The individual's needs are important, but the masses are who make your site a success or a failure. For instance, on my site right now, there's a small font that, while it looks sleek and tidy, is a pain for me to read. (My designer changed it.) I have to increase the font size when I'm viewing it. I haven't changed it back because, to my knowledge, no one's complained but me. We don't allow people to change the font size when they're posting on my sites, though.

[grieves and squick]

We use default font size on ours. Several of our members have poor eyesight to begin with, and IMO there is nothing "neater looking" about lettering so tiny you have to squint to see it. I don't understand why or how that came to be, apparently, widely perceived as "neater." The default size is the ideal one for reading ease which is why it's used across not only PB boards as the default, but on news websites, blogs etc. It's the most easily legible size. And I would think that that would make a font "neater" more than anything else. Isn't "neatness" based on ease of access?

[, b e x ']

I think the administrator or staff of a forum definitely need to make the default font appeal to the masses, but also let the members change the font, color and size of their text as they like. This way everyone will be able to read the rules and other informations about the site, but they will also be able to change the text in their own posts so it appeals to them.

Then, there's the problem of certain people not being able to read a smaller size or a bigger size making the site look ugly, or a certain color looking bad or not readable enough against the site background...but those are pretty much unavoidable, I think. Sure, you could always have strict rules about members not changing the font, size or color but would that make anyone happy? =/

[grieves and squick]

We don't restrict members from changing the font size in their own posts. If they want to roleplay with microscopic fonts, it's fine as long as all the participants can see it, and when someone requests that people not use a tiny font with them {we have at least three people on our website who are legally blind to almost completely blind, and using smaller font sizes on your posts compromises their ability to zoom in to an easy size they can see} usually others are quite considerate in adjusting their font to normal size. I put up with the smaller fonts in some members' posts for the most part. As a matter of fact I see less of it lately. Maybe this horrendous trend is finally ending?

[fantasmic]

I feel like I have the opposite problem; I can't read larger fonts. My eyes have more difficulty reading colors than small fonts, and if I use larger fonts then my eyes tend to skip lines and it gets very frustrating very quickly. In accordance, I tend to use small fonts on my forum. However, I try to make the colors as easy to read as possible to compensate. I personally don't get why people can't use CTRL -/+ if they have difficulty with the font size. I mean, I know on my computer it makes the graphics bigger or smaller too which can be annoying, but it's twenty times easier than making the admin go through and add codes or change their settings or skin, just for one or two members. I've personally never received a complaint, and so until that happy day comes...

[Artemis]

Sept 28, 2009 8:31:25 GMT -8 @fantasmic said:

I feel like I have the opposite problem; I can't read larger fonts. My eyes have more difficulty reading colors than small fonts, and if I use larger fonts then my eyes tend to skip lines and it gets very frustrating very quickly. In accordance, I tend to use small fonts on my forum. However, I try to make the colors as easy to read as possible to compensate. I personally don't get why people can't use CTRL -/+ if they have difficulty with the font size. I mean, I know on my computer it makes the graphics bigger or smaller too which can be annoying, but it's twenty times easier than making the admin go through and add codes or change their settings or skin, just for one or two members. I've personally never received a complaint, and so until that happy day comes...

I think appealing the masses can involve putting a code in or something of that sort. Many people don't want to constantly change their font sizes back and forth, so spending about ten seconds adding a code to the forum can be much more beneficial and much more appealing to members who may want to spend time at your forum but don't want to deal with the text size. You may not receive any visible complaints, but there's a chance you may be missing out on some members if you don't give the chance for everyone to modify the looks to their visibility needs. Using the ctrl + - isn't out of the question, it's just rather unorthodox, and something many people don't want to spend their time doing during their time at a forum.

[Lainey]

I myself like to please all that I can. I use the proboards default which changes using the computer and internet settings..
Side Q: How can i have info I typed in tables follow the same suit?

I read about ctrl + and - and that worked but it doesnt change when selecting text in browser how can I make it.

[My Kitty Twofer]

So I ask you this, when building or revamping your forum, do you take into consideration the individual needs of your members or do you try to appeal to the masses?

I hate small font. Reading the small words on a brightly lit computer screen gives me a headache. I always try to post in large or normal font size, but if the font is a small one I use my "Size=3" tags.

Forums with small fonts aren't as appealing to me as others.
Another thing is the coloring. It's easier to read smaller fonts, for me at least, on a darker background.

[Anya Ozera]

I think I like it better when indivisual members can choose their own fonts and sizes and stuff. I can't see too well for those of you who know me and it gets very difficult to post or read what you posted when the fourm's size is set to very tiny sizes and all I actuially left fourms because of it but this is just me.

[Infinity Recruitment Services]

As the problem in and of itself seems to be font size, perhaps there is a middle ground between individual needs and mass appeal. While mass appeals would seem to be of greatest weight when you first make a board, there will always been a desire for new blood and some of that new blood may have problem with small font, high contrast et. al.

A good middle ground may be this:
Standard font size for the default skin and an alternate and therefore optional skin with sleek design or an unusual contrast for those members who would desire such a thing. While this may have a side effect of not being sleek FOR the very new members you might attract with a sleek design, it would benefit those who would have problems with an objectionable new design.