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I used to tell myself I couldn't code or write without the perfect font. I'd spend hours looking for it, and end up not getting any work done. When I finally di

I used to tell myself I couldn't code or write without the perfect font. I'd spend hours looking for it, and end up not getting any work done. When I finally did get around to actually working, five minutes in and I'd forget about the font completely. I have a (rather lazy) friend who's been asking me to help him start a blog for years now. I've promised to after he produces his first block of content, and he keeps saying he can't write if he doesn't feel the design is aesthetically pleasing. If he'd spent his time writing instead of worrying about this, he'd have a crappy initial draft, several revised drafts, and probably something decent by now. But no, that prohibitively unattractive font! It was nice of iA to write this up, and design posts are a fun read, but does anyone who's busy actually writing care about this?

forgotmypw 9y ago
Why don't you spend 5 minutes putting together a simple WordPress blog for him, and change it later?
discoursism 9y ago
I'd guess in almost any trade, the craftspeople care about their tools, even aspects that are mostly aesthetic. I consider myself pretty busy, but I still spend a half an hour every few months reviewing the space of available fonts, looking for something that appeals even more than my current favorite. (FWIW that's PT Mono for the last few months, after almost a decade of using Ubuntu Mono exclusively.)
Derbasti 9y ago
For me, I need breaks, and stimulation. Sometimes, tinkering with fonts and colors is just the right kind of distraction to get a project back on track, and to replenish my joy of coding. Honestly, I think I have about six hours of full-concentration work in me in a typical day. Less, if it's mentally demanding work. Sometimes, the best thing I can do for a project is take a walk, or let it rest for a bit and let my subconscious keep churning on it.
pgt 9y ago
I recently converted my dynamic DB-driven blog to a static website. I did not predict how badly the added latency between having an idea, writing down the first flawed paragraph, saving a draft, reading what I wrote, then revising and publishing would reduce my writing output. Sure, I can write in Google Docs, but because it's not on my site one click away from being "out there" I am far less compelled to write down my fleeting ideas. Over time I have learned that fleeting ideas are the best ones because they exist at the limit of your understanding. Maybe if you help set up his blog, he'll be more likely to write?
- adiabatty 9y ago
  His buddy isn't being blocked by a clunky workflow, though. His friend has trouble starting because he can't see his writing in a font that he likes. I'd suggest that the friend write his first post in Word or somesuch with a font that he likes. Then, when he has a good first post, export it to the blog.
- rcarmo 9y ago
  That’s why all my blog content resides in dropbox. One text file in the right place, and boom! A new post.
  - wikibob 9y ago
    What do you have this implemented with?
    - rcarmo 9y ago
      https://github.com/rcarmo/sushy https://github.com/rcarmo/sushy.
- BrandoElFollito 9y ago
  I had the opposite feeling. I wrote my PhD thesis in 1998-2000 and the editor of choice at the time was Word. It was a pain to deal with the formatting, spacing, page breaking and other -ings. I then tried LaTeX and all problems vanished. Since I could not influence the output (at least without a lot of work) I simply gave up and started to "code my text". It was way faster than admiring my artful working all the time, I just complied the text from time to time and I was done. This is how I see Markdown today.
nabla9 9y ago
Most subtle ergonomic issues are weakly related of our preferences. Even if people consciously prefer one font to another, they may be more productive in the one they don't like. If there is actual difference, it should be measured not discussed. Dual space fonts look and feel good for me, but I'm not sure if they have any value. Even aesthetic value may wear off and be just novelty.
jstewartmobile 9y ago
It's nice to know I'm not the only one running on OCD-fueled procrastination.
int_19h 9y ago
I keep searching for the perfect coding font. And I keep coming back to the classic VGA 8x16. I don't know what it is about it, but it just looks right. (It probably has a lot to do with the date of my birth, but then again... who cares why something feels right, when it does?) https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/ https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/

forgotmypw 9y ago

Why don't you spend 5 minutes putting together a simple WordPress blog for him, and change it later?

discoursism 9y ago

I'd guess in almost any trade, the craftspeople care about their tools, even aspects that are mostly aesthetic. I consider myself pretty busy, but I still spend a half an hour every few months reviewing the space of available fonts, looking for something that appeals even more than my current favorite. (FWIW that's PT Mono for the last few months, after almost a decade of using Ubuntu Mono exclusively.)

Derbasti 9y ago

For me, I need breaks, and stimulation. Sometimes, tinkering with fonts and colors is just the right kind of distraction to get a project back on track, and to replenish my joy of coding. Honestly, I think I have about six hours of full-concentration work in me in a typical day. Less, if it's mentally demanding work. Sometimes, the best thing I can do for a project is take a walk, or let it rest for a bit and let my subconscious keep churning on it.

pgt 9y ago

I recently converted my dynamic DB-driven blog to a static website. I did not predict how badly the added latency between having an idea, writing down the first flawed paragraph, saving a draft, reading what I wrote, then revising and publishing would reduce my writing output. Sure, I can write in Google Docs, but because it's not on my site one click away from being "out there" I am far less compelled to write down my fleeting ideas. Over time I have learned that fleeting ideas are the best ones because they exist at the limit of your understanding. Maybe if you help set up his blog, he'll be more likely to write?

adiabatty 9y ago
His buddy isn't being blocked by a clunky workflow, though. His friend has trouble starting because he can't see his writing in a font that he likes. I'd suggest that the friend write his first post in Word or somesuch with a font that he likes. Then, when he has a good first post, export it to the blog.
rcarmo 9y ago
That’s why all my blog content resides in dropbox. One text file in the right place, and boom! A new post.
- wikibob 9y ago
  What do you have this implemented with?
  - rcarmo 9y ago
    https://github.com/rcarmo/sushy https://github.com/rcarmo/sushy.
BrandoElFollito 9y ago
I had the opposite feeling. I wrote my PhD thesis in 1998-2000 and the editor of choice at the time was Word. It was a pain to deal with the formatting, spacing, page breaking and other -ings. I then tried LaTeX and all problems vanished. Since I could not influence the output (at least without a lot of work) I simply gave up and started to "code my text". It was way faster than admiring my artful working all the time, I just complied the text from time to time and I was done. This is how I see Markdown today.

nabla9 9y ago

Most subtle ergonomic issues are weakly related of our preferences. Even if people consciously prefer one font to another, they may be more productive in the one they don't like. If there is actual difference, it should be measured not discussed. Dual space fonts look and feel good for me, but I'm not sure if they have any value. Even aesthetic value may wear off and be just novelty.

jstewartmobile 9y ago

It's nice to know I'm not the only one running on OCD-fueled procrastination.

int_19h 9y ago

I keep searching for the perfect coding font. And I keep coming back to the classic VGA 8x16. I don't know what it is about it, but it just looks right. (It probably has a lot to do with the date of my birth, but then again... who cares why something feels right, when it does?) https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/ https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/