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Reducing maximum column width would also be my #1 suggestion. Maybe that can be taken care of through themeing/browser plugins? If anyone has good ones to rec

Reducing maximum column width would also be my #1 suggestion. Maybe that can be taken care of through themeing/browser plugins? If anyone has good ones to recommend, suggestions appreciated.

pbronez 6y ago
They are reducing maximum column width, but perhaps not as drastically as you'd wish: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements/Features/Limiting_content_width https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Reading/We...
- davidivadavid 6y ago
  Yeah, I don't think 900+px is ideal for reading on a desktop computer. Better than nothing, though!
  - userbinator 6y ago
    Resize the window yourself then. I get far more annoyed at sites that refuse to flow text to the desired width.
    - stevebmark 6y ago
      This is a good strategy called "blaming the user" and means you should never design computer interfaces! Full width site text means the creator has no understanding of basic HCI
      - userbinator 6y ago
        Full width site text means the creator has no understanding of basic HCI No, it means the creator thinks of users as knowledgeable and able to take care of their own personal needs, and not as idiots who don't know how to use their computer's window manager. Perfect example of the former? HN itself.
        davidivadavid 6y ago
        a) People don't know their own needs until you show them what their options are. Are you familiar with the literature on optimal line length that is quoted in the OP? If so, good job. I think it's fair to say 99% of people aren't. Consequently, if you asked people if they wanted an optimal reading experience, then they would have to concede that they are not knowledgeable about what that means, and thus that they should adopt different settings than what they would instinctively pick. b) The alternative is not that people are "idiots who don't know how to use their window manager." I don't want to have to use my window manager. Manually resizing windows for each tab to get the right line length is a huge waste of time and seems idiotic to me. I want a professional designer to make it so I have the best possible reading experience on the websites I'm browsing. Because I'm humble enough to know I couldn't reach that standard by "using my window manager".
        bmn__ 6y ago
        That argument completely falls flat if you consider the actual result: https://i.imgur.com/7mAQy5H.png https://i.imgur.com/7mAQy5H.png It enrages me to no end that this is sold as an improvement. • Who wants to read four to five words per line? THIS LINE SIZE IS ACTUALLY UTTER ASS. • In the good design, it was easy to resize to window to make the line length narrower. However, in the bad design, there is no recourse to make the line length longer.
        davidivadavid 6y ago
        The "actual result" looks nothing like that in my browser, so I can't really judge, although I agree that it looks terrible on your screenshot (text overlapping in links, etc.). However, the line length, while suboptimal there, is pretty commonly encountered — pick up a newspaper and look how many words fit in a column.

Reducing maximum column width would also be my #1 suggestion. Maybe that can be taken care of through themeing/browser plugins? If anyone has good ones to recommend, suggestions appreciated.

pbronez 6y ago

They are reducing maximum column width, but perhaps not as drastically as you'd wish: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements/Features/Limiting_content_width https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Reading/We...

davidivadavid 6y ago
Yeah, I don't think 900+px is ideal for reading on a desktop computer. Better than nothing, though!
- userbinator 6y ago
  Resize the window yourself then. I get far more annoyed at sites that refuse to flow text to the desired width.
  - stevebmark 6y ago
    This is a good strategy called "blaming the user" and means you should never design computer interfaces! Full width site text means the creator has no understanding of basic HCI
    - userbinator 6y ago
      Full width site text means the creator has no understanding of basic HCI No, it means the creator thinks of users as knowledgeable and able to take care of their own personal needs, and not as idiots who don't know how to use their computer's window manager. Perfect example of the former? HN itself.
      - davidivadavid 6y ago
        a) People don't know their own needs until you show them what their options are. Are you familiar with the literature on optimal line length that is quoted in the OP? If so, good job. I think it's fair to say 99% of people aren't. Consequently, if you asked people if they wanted an optimal reading experience, then they would have to concede that they are not knowledgeable about what that means, and thus that they should adopt different settings than what they would instinctively pick. b) The alternative is not that people are "idiots who don't know how to use their window manager." I don't want to have to use my window manager. Manually resizing windows for each tab to get the right line length is a huge waste of time and seems idiotic to me. I want a professional designer to make it so I have the best possible reading experience on the websites I'm browsing. Because I'm humble enough to know I couldn't reach that standard by "using my window manager".
        bmn__ 6y ago
        That argument completely falls flat if you consider the actual result: https://i.imgur.com/7mAQy5H.png https://i.imgur.com/7mAQy5H.png It enrages me to no end that this is sold as an improvement. • Who wants to read four to five words per line? THIS LINE SIZE IS ACTUALLY UTTER ASS. • In the good design, it was easy to resize to window to make the line length narrower. However, in the bad design, there is no recourse to make the line length longer.
        davidivadavid 6y ago
        The "actual result" looks nothing like that in my browser, so I can't really judge, although I agree that it looks terrible on your screenshot (text overlapping in links, etc.). However, the line length, while suboptimal there, is pretty commonly encountered — pick up a newspaper and look how many words fit in a column.