What is the DEAL with tiny, faded-out type?

[Rags3000]

It's become a commonplace thing, you see it on almost every forum, but almost all the boards I visit have type like this, itty-bitty and grayed-out. What's point, making the whole thing easier on the eyes? If so, making people squint to read it -- gray 6-point type on a blinding white background -- is not the way to go. It's the equivalent of making roads safer by polishing them to a high gloss and making them narrower. Or am I missing some important point?

I note that one of my favorite sites, Lileks.com, still uses good old-fashioned normal-sized, black type. Readable. Squint-free.

[jgalt]

Are we supposed to have any idea at all what you are referring to...?

[Stradawhovious]

If you hold the CTRL key and scroll up on your mouse, the font will get larger..... well, to be fair, everything will get larger.

[EJSG19]

if you are talking about this: which is what I think you are takling about then it is mostly used for somebody trying to make a joke, or put a cute little disclaimer down below something they just said.

Sorta like this:
Strad is a cheese-head wearing, raw-burger eating, big meaniehead, with a dog who has a strong liking for socks.








but don't let that fool you too much, he's a pretty nice fella for the most part


Ways to combat this... 1. Hit the Quote button, you will then see the type in normal size, then just close the window or hit Back, so you don't make an accidental post. 2. Copy and paste into a word processor, then highlight, and increase the font size so you can read whatever it is you were previously squinting at. 3. There are a few other ways, depending on how much of a "techy" you are.

[Rags3000]

Are we supposed to have any idea at all what you are referring to...?

The text typeface used in this forum (and many others). Somehow I thought that was obvious.

[Rags3000]

if you are talking about this: which is what I think you are takling about then it is mostly used for somebody trying to make a joke, or put a cute little disclaimer down below something they just said.

Sorta like this:
Strad is a cheese-head wearing, raw-burger eating, big meaniehead, with a dog who has a strong liking for socks.








but don't let that fool you too much, he's a pretty nice fella for the most part




Ways to combat this... 1. Hit the Quote button, you will then see the type in normal size, then just close the window or hit Back, so you don't make an accidental post. 2. Copy and paste into a word processor, then highlight, and increase the font size so you can read whatever it is you were previously squinting at. 3. There are a few other ways, depending on how much of a "techy" you are.

Thanks for the suggestions, but what I'm looking for is for the High Sherriffs of this forum to make each post more readable in the first place. Like this, only not quite so big. More like normal..

[Ironbear]

Some of that may be you using a better computer. The fonts are based on screen resolution. If you get a higher resolution screen, the fonts will appear smaller. I don't know what web browser you are using but on Firefox, if you hit Ctrl + (hold down Ctrl and press the "+" button) the font size will increase. Or, if you have a wheel on the mouse, hold down Ctrl and roll the wheel.

[westberg]

Check in your User Control Panel upper left of page. Then Board preferences and board styles, I use prosilver.

See if that helps.

[hammAR]

Check in your User Control Panel upper left of page. Then Board preferences and board styles, I use prosilver.

See if that helps.

...there is also that visually impaired option in the Windows control panel....makes all the type 3 inches high...........

[EJSG19]

Thanks for the suggestions, but what I'm looking for is for the High Sherriffs of this forum to make each post more readable in the first place. Like this, only not quite so big. More like normal..

Understood. Couple things though:
1. People do it to make it difficult to read on purpose. That is usually part of the joke. So what you can read normally means one thing, then when you figure out what the small stuff says, it probably means something else.

2. You can go to your Internet Explorer settings and increase the font size across the board. click "View" then mouseover Text Size, and pick what you like.

3. You might be talking about something different than what I gave for an example. if so, please disregard.

[jgalt]

Are we supposed to have any idea at all what you are referring to...?

The text typeface used in this forum (and many others). Somehow I thought that was obvious.

You referenced small, gray text on a white background - I'm looking at 'normal' sized black text on a light blue background. If my view is different from yours, then it is user specific, has little to do with the site, and your complaint is misplaced. If you are simply looking for helpful ways to make your forum viewing more pleasant on your particular machine, well, you could have asked that. And of course, others have already tried to help with exactly that issue...

Good luck.

[mitchx3]

Could be running an LCD at non-native resolution.

[DeanC]

Dave,

It's a function of your personal settings, not the forum. Strad has the right idea:

hold the CTRL Key and press + to make the text bigger and bolder.

Press and hold CTRL and - to make it smaller.

Lileks.com is not a forum, it's a blog so it's different that a board like this.

[Pat Cannon]

That "+" key thing allowed me to put off getting glasses for years.

[MisterOblivious]

Could be running an LCD at non-native resolution.

Ahhh, that'l make things look funky! Wouldn't be supprised if that's the root problem. I've noticed a lot of the guys at work run a lower rez because it makes the text bigger. Just look blurrier to my eyes. You get what you pay for... Piss poor scalers and TN panels are the norm on cheap LCDs.

Tip: if you're using an LCD on Windows, use the Cleartype Tuner Sometimes the default setting makes small text a pain to read.