True. The problem is the default browser settings. They are middling to bad, almost universally, and you cannot really expect visitors to fix their font setting

True. The problem is the default browser settings. They are middling to bad, almost universally, and you cannot really expect visitors to fix their font settings before opening your webpage. In a perfect world the defaults would look great, making sans-serif a viable choice and allowing the few users who really care (beyond 'it looks good') to do whatever they want.