Making it easier to read your posts

[blackjack]

i guess most of the posters on here probably don't think about the way their posts read on the forum, but i would humbly like to suggest a couple of ideas to make it more enjoyable to read your wise and funny words


spacing - why not use your 'enter' button to space out the sentences between different points you are making.
it takes the words to a new line and is much easier to read.

most probably as we age our sight deteriorates so choose a larger size for your post from the drop down menu located next to the font box at the top of the message box. your readers will appreciate it being easier to read 8-)


the font automatically selected is 'Verdana'. you can stamp your own style by using a different font. i tend to always use 'Comic Sans' size '3'. but there are heaps to choose from, so why not find one you like?

arial; arial black; arial narrow; book antiqua; century gothic; comic sans; courier new; fixedsys; franklin gothic medium; garamond; georgia; impact; lucida console; lucida sans unicode; microsoft sans serif; palatino linotype; system; tahoma; times new roman; trebuchet ms; verdana

i typed all of the above font names in size 3. as you can see, some fonts are larger and more s p a c e d out than others.


why not use a different colour? one that's easy to read.
when i am scrolling thru' heaps of posts, it makes it much easier to read what i wrote when i see the colour.
underline?


BOLD


ITALICS?


i mostly don't bother with Capitalising my sentences. i'm not suggesting everyone ignore that "rule" of grammar. i just find it easier not having to think about whether or not to put the capital letter in. BUT IT IS MUCH HARDER TO READ A LOT OF WRITING IF IT IS ALL DONE IN CAPITALS. ask anyone who has used power point or overhead presentations to an audience...


love your smilies. they add a lot of meaning and humour and tell a story of their own. just use the ones in the side box, or click on 'More' and check out the fun icons you could use.

:gorgeous: i love this one - i like to pretend that is what i look like
(:happy: dreamin')

:angryfire: can you tell i am fuming about something?

:whip: this is supposed to be 'whip', but it looks like something else to me ;D

:hammer: when i am being far too blonde (and i'm brunette)

:wut: what it feels like to bring up teenagers at times


of course, none of this really matters. it is far more important to read what you have to say. if you can be bothered, it does make it more pleasurable for the readers if you get a bit creative! Have a go!
if you think this is bad, just wait until i have a go at some common mis-substitutions of words
e.g. their, they're and there etc.you gotta love me, i'm a redhead !!! :gorgeous:
blackjenny xxx

[BREEZE470]

I'm a Verdana freek .... my favourite font, but adding abit of colour and a larger size does definately make it easier to read.

Thanks for the suggestions - I've spent far too much time in Purebred Dog threads to bother with making it look good ;D

Time to expand my horizons !!
Sharen

[the gecko]

When I want to see an image/pic I open it in a new tab/window.
Just right click the image.

Then I dont have to use the back button and reload the page I was just viewing.
This saves HEAPS of time.

Dunno about all the fonts tho. Most of us use 'Quick Reply' which doesnt have lots of options.

Andrew

PS - check out the Firefox sticky on the Help section if you want your pages to load faster.

[iricangi]

An influx of pink posts are coming me thinks..

[BREEZE470]

An influx of pink posts are coming me thinks..

hehe ... I was going to on my first post but opted for Purple instead ... arrrrrrrhhhh much better ;D

[Little grey men]

I am going to colour like this in protest until the pink thing stops.....

Yukk.....no not really, that made me feel sick doing that !!!

[maztez]

Here comes the migraines with all this multi coloured text..I'll have to wear sunnys whilst reading.
cheers Terry

[2manylures]

It's all black & white to me, although the size does matter!

[webby]

iTs A BLOODIE fUsHiNg CITE, NOT a BLOODY eNgLuSh Lesson

[PinHead]

get rid of the green..it is an appalling colour to try and read anything.
smilies are stupid bloody things that should be banned...but I suppose they keep the kiddies happy.

[4x4frog]

I don't care what size, colour or race the written words are, I'd just like to see more people use punctuate better. It's difficult to read sometimes when people neglect to use a capital at the start of a new sentence. It isn't like you are yelling for just that letter FFS.:o
Yes, I know it's a physhing site but it amkes you look stoopid if you can't write proper, it's just the same as some lame ass carrying on with 'you know' like and everythinK in their speech..::) .ARGHHHH............or dumb footballers who start evey sentence with 'Yeah No' ?????????????? What is it with bogans and the yeah no crap?;D

[Nic]

I think posts are easier to read when they're NOT in various colours, but that's just me!

As for spelling, I don't equate it with a cure for cancer but when it comes to posting, isn't the idea to get your point across? It's an uphill battle doing that if your spelling makes your post confusing, or simply a chore to read. If someone's spelling is really bad I often skip to another post rather than continue wading through the phonetic jungle. I suspect many other members would do the same.

I reckon the easiest solution is to use the Mozilla Firefox browser which has an automatic spell check... very useful.

[TimiBoy]

dumb footballers who start evey sentence with 'Yeah No'

Surely they just mean "maybe"? That's what I always felt "yes and no" meant... Doesn't it just grate your nerves? But normally it's "Yeah Nar";D;D;D

But I am a pompous git. I like this font and size, and I'm fairly picky about grammar and spelling. I tolerate the stuff I see here, because, while they can't spell, they fish, so they can't be all bad!;D;D;D

I hate emoticons, too, Pinhead, but if you don't use them, sometimes folks take you the wrong way.

Cheers,

Tim

[castlemaine]

iTs A BLOODIE fUsHiNg CITE, NOT a BLOODY eNgLuSh Lesson
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I had so two blokes(early twenties) deliver some furniture and got talking about fishing and boy! they were good boaties and fishermen but when I asked for a receipt one of them could not write (and said so) so handed the receipt book to the other bloke(who scratched it out). I was shocked, must have skipped school to go fishing. Sad really.8-)

[dogsbody]

I Hate When Every Word Starts With A Capitol Letter. It's Bloody Hard For The Eye To Follow.


Dave.

[BREEZE470]

I am going to colour like this in protest until the pink thing stops.....

Yukk.....no not really, that made me feel sick doing that !!!

Awwwww, ok I'll stop with the pink in the 'text' of my posts



It's all black & white to me, although the size does matter!

That is so VERY true !!



iTs A BLOODIE fUsHiNg CITE, NOT a BLOODY eNgLuSh Lesson

Don't be such a spoil sport :P



I Hate When Every Word Starts With A Capitol Letter. It's Bloody Hard For The Eye To Follow.

Now I know I'm only new here but I've only seen 1 member post like that :-X
(ETA: I just saw a 2nd member posting like that .... oops)


Overall I have been quite impressed with the posters on this forum - there have only been several occassions where I have struggled to understand what was being said. Spelling doesn't bother me but really poorly structured sentences (those with no punctuation at all) are, at times, quite difficult to read.

Personally, I can take or leave the multicoloured messages. It's entertaining and I've found in several other forums I'm a member of, that it does help find certain members posts. If that's what you like then go for it ;)

.

[blackjack]

Well, I can take suggestions as well as make them, so I'll change from green just for you Pinhead. I will try to start each sentence with a capital letter too because I hadn't realised it made reading more difficult when you don't.

I enjoyed the replies and the humour in them, nicely captured by Flippher. I don't think anyone would like a change in colour for every word, and mostly I think the meaning behind my original post was understood. As I said before, none of it really matters, it's just more important to make your post.

As for the smilies - well I love 'em.

It's the artist in me you see... :beatnik:
Blackjenny

[PinHead]

Well, I can take suggestions as well as make them, so I'll change from green just for you Pinhead. I will try to start each sentence with a capital letter too because I hadn't realised it made reading more difficult when you don't.

I enjoyed the replies and the humour in them, nicely captured by Flippher. I don't think anyone would like a change in colour for every word, and mostly I think the meaning behind my original post was understood. As I said before, none of it really matters, it's just more important to make your post.

As for the smilies - well I love 'em.

It's the artist in me you see... :beatnik:
Blackjenny

I don't like smilies cos I never smile..I am a GOM.

[blackjack]

Yes, Pinhead, I know. Another GOM mate of yours told me you were. But that's OK, we're all brothers and sisters in this. You see, I am a GOB! ;D

Cheers, Blackjenny :gorgeous:

[TheRealAndy]

I find that font hard to read too btw blackjack :(

I did read a white paper from microsoft on fonts that are supposed to be easier to read from a computer. Will try track it down.

[Little grey men]

Did a course back in my graphic art days, learned all about colours and fonts and what you can and can't do in publishing, whats easy on the eye etc...the only part that stuck in my head was "no yellow text". Thats all I remember, it was really boring.

I like this font. I use it a lot. probably too much in fact.

[blackjack]

I find that font hard to read too btw blackjack :(

I did read a white paper from microsoft on fonts that are supposed to be easier to read from a computer. Will try track it down.

Hello TheRealAndy. Am I correct when I gather you mean this font I am using now? Comic sans?

That is interesting. I would like to know which of the fonts are recommended for reading purposes. Thanks, Blackjenny ;)

[blackjack]

I like this font. I use it a lot. probably too much in fact.

No problems reading that one Little grey men. If you can read it easily, I am all for it. Cheers, Blackjenny :gorgeous:

[TheRealAndy]

Hello TheRealAndy. Am I correct when I gather you mean this font I am using now? Comic sans?

That is interesting. I would like to know which of the fonts are recommended for reading purposes. Thanks, Blackjenny ;)


Yup, comic I would say is one of the more difficult fonts to read. I tried to find that MS paper, but look as I might, I cant find it. MS does have a web site dedicated to typography http://www.microsoft.com/typography/default.mspx that is worth a look at. MS hammers user interface style guidlines into developers, and this is one of those areas. MS have done a lot of research in this area.

Not really related to web, but this page give some tips too: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA011164301033.aspx

Will keep trying to find that paper.

[Ausfish]

Saw this on a sign forum
Real friends don't let friends use Comic Sans

Sums it up pretty well, one of the worst fonts ever invented.

[blackjack]

Saw this on a sign forum
Real friends don't let friends use Comic Sans

Sums it up pretty well, one of the worst fonts ever invented.

Thanks Steve.

Yea, Comic sans is, or was, like SO yesterday. LOL

How's Arial?

Blackjenny

[PinHead]

Thanks Steve.

Yea, Comic sans is, or was, like SO yesterday. LOL

How's Arial?

Blackjenny


that's better.

That must have really been worrying you..awake at 2am just to change your font...I am impressed.

[blackjack]

Thanks Pinhead I knew I had to do something special to impress a GOM. By the way, you're not doing too badly yourself 4.54 am. Getting your fill of Ausfish before heading out maybe? LOL :P

Me...I wake up all thru' the night and can't sleep, so I get onto the laptop and read and see photo's of all the fish I'd like to be catching! Soon...Soon.

Blackjen :gorgeous: (just for you coz I know you love smilies)

[baitwaster]

My staff are banned from Comic Sans, it is instant dismissal to use it for any job.

[Little grey men]

I worked with a fellow cartoonist who used comic sans for every piece of work he did...It slowly drove me nuts. I must admit that I shudder a little bit when I see it now. It reminds me of him a little bit....and he was a complete tool.
He also used to wear a pair of yellow braces to work every day with smiley faces all over them...these also angered me a great deal.

[blackjack]

My staff are banned from Comic Sans, it is instant dismissal to use it for any job.

Ouch!

And there was I, blindly p...ing people off. If only I'd known I was having such an effect with my postings. ;D

It's just astonishing to me. Honestly I don't think Comic sans is hard to read - and I like the shape of the letters. It's the girl in me I guess.

Cheers, Blackjenny :gorgeous:

BTW baitwaster, I don't know what type of business you are in, but wow, that does seem extreme to me. I wonder how it would hold up in an Unfair Dismissal Court.
viz...
Well, Your Honour, Blackjenny used Comic sans.....LOL

[baitwaster]

I am in print and design Jenny, and that is one of my more plausible excuses for getting rid of someone LOL.

"Sackable offences" is quite and extensive list...

Don't worry about pissing people off on here, you would probably have to do a lot worse than that to upset anyone, and most people who get upset usually do so over an imagined or impled infraction.

As far as favourite fonts go, each to thier own mate. :) If you like it.. go for it.