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I clicked on the link and closed it after 3 lines. No. JUST no. I will not stand for those columns. You have KILOMETERS of virtual space on a webpage. You are n

I clicked on the link and closed it after 3 lines. No. JUST no. I will not stand for those columns. You have KILOMETERS of virtual space on a webpage. You are not stuck on a physical dead media. Don't pretend to be.

smt88 7y ago
Looks fine on FF mobile. No virtual space. I have JS disabled.
KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
Example of skeuomorphism gone insane.
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  Yet somehow being flat and minimalist too. Worst of both worlds?
tempguy9999 7y ago
The reason papers adopted the thin column layout is because it suits the eye better. AIUI the eye can cover most of a narrow column and a few saccades to cover the rest. Also finding the next line is easy whereas if it's wide you may find the one above/below the correct one, or simply start reading the same line again (something that happened to me recently). I understand the optimum width is about 6 to 7 english words. Try reading it. it is strangely archaic but it's an easy read for me, and well, what's more important, the format or the subject?
- KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
  No it's not dude. The ideal length is dependent on things like font size and line spacing. Having to scroll back up and down is terrible UX. You can just google ideal line length and it'll explain it all.
  - tempguy9999 7y ago
    A quick goggle says various character widths per line. If the average length of an english word is 5.1 characters, then it's considerably more words than I suggested. None of the links I found mention font/line spacing though it's a quick skim so far. Your point about having to scroll up and down is spot on; it happens that full page fits comfortably onto my screen so I didn't need to. I forgot it wouldn't on others. If I may add to that, the link to the intercept others had to point out to me I missed because it blended in too well with the rest of the text. Anyway, that's 1/2 hour reading set for this evening, thanks!

smt88 7y ago

Looks fine on FF mobile. No virtual space. I have JS disabled.

KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago

Example of skeuomorphism gone insane.

cameronbrown 7y ago
Yet somehow being flat and minimalist too. Worst of both worlds?

tempguy9999 7y ago

The reason papers adopted the thin column layout is because it suits the eye better. AIUI the eye can cover most of a narrow column and a few saccades to cover the rest. Also finding the next line is easy whereas if it's wide you may find the one above/below the correct one, or simply start reading the same line again (something that happened to me recently). I understand the optimum width is about 6 to 7 english words. Try reading it. it is strangely archaic but it's an easy read for me, and well, what's more important, the format or the subject?

KaoruAoiShiho 7y ago
No it's not dude. The ideal length is dependent on things like font size and line spacing. Having to scroll back up and down is terrible UX. You can just google ideal line length and it'll explain it all.
- tempguy9999 7y ago
  A quick goggle says various character widths per line. If the average length of an english word is 5.1 characters, then it's considerably more words than I suggested. None of the links I found mention font/line spacing though it's a quick skim so far. Your point about having to scroll up and down is spot on; it happens that full page fits comfortably onto my screen so I didn't need to. I forgot it wouldn't on others. If I may add to that, the link to the intercept others had to point out to me I missed because it blended in too well with the rest of the text. Anyway, that's 1/2 hour reading set for this evening, thanks!