4 ms·

Exactly, zooming and base font size are two fundamentally different things. Forcing users to zoom to get a legible text size is not an acceptable solution.

cuu508 4y ago
Wouldn't users also want legible icons, pictures, margins, etc.?
- Filligree 4y ago
  Most pictures can be shrunk significantly and remain legible. They don't need to be zoomed in on.
- layer8 4y ago
  It depends on the icons and pictures. With pixel-based graphics, you want to keep those 1:1 for crispness, and not get a blurry interpolation due to zooming, at least on lower-DPI screens.
- muspimerol 4y ago
  No, not really. The browser setting is for default _font_ size for a reason. People want legible text. Design elements like icons, pictures, margins are generally decorative and not functional. If a user wants to set a default _zoom_ level, then they can set that as well. As I said, these are two different things.
IshKebab 4y ago
Why not? If you have trouble reading text are you not also going to have trouble reading icons, pictures, etc. too?
- layer8 4y ago
  It depends on the icons and pictures. With pixel-based graphics, you want to keep those 1:1 for crispness, and not get a blurry interpolation due to zooming, at least on lower-DPI screens. And the custom base font size may just be e.g. two pixels larger than the default for comfortable reading.
  - IshKebab 4y ago
    That seems like a very weak reason. High DPI screens are common now, as is SVG. And slightly blurry pixels is hardly the end of the world is it? If that's the only problem I'll stick with px.
    - layer8 4y ago
      Low-DPI screens (e.g. Full-HD) are common on desktop systems and laptops, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, due to their lower cost, and due to native applications that aren’t designed for hi-DPI. Pixel-based icons look better on those than vector icons. “Slightly blurry” is the bane of modern visual UI design.
- muspimerol 4y ago
  That's what the default zoom level is for. There are plenty of people who just need slightly larger text so they can read, but don't want to zoom in every element of the page. Why are you making assumptions about what users want instead of just supporting basic web browser defaults? It's really not that difficult to support.

cuu508 4y ago

Wouldn't users also want legible icons, pictures, margins, etc.?

Filligree 4y ago
Most pictures can be shrunk significantly and remain legible. They don't need to be zoomed in on.
layer8 4y ago
It depends on the icons and pictures. With pixel-based graphics, you want to keep those 1:1 for crispness, and not get a blurry interpolation due to zooming, at least on lower-DPI screens.
muspimerol 4y ago
No, not really. The browser setting is for default _font_ size for a reason. People want legible text. Design elements like icons, pictures, margins are generally decorative and not functional. If a user wants to set a default _zoom_ level, then they can set that as well. As I said, these are two different things.

IshKebab 4y ago

Why not? If you have trouble reading text are you not also going to have trouble reading icons, pictures, etc. too?

layer8 4y ago
It depends on the icons and pictures. With pixel-based graphics, you want to keep those 1:1 for crispness, and not get a blurry interpolation due to zooming, at least on lower-DPI screens. And the custom base font size may just be e.g. two pixels larger than the default for comfortable reading.
- IshKebab 4y ago
  That seems like a very weak reason. High DPI screens are common now, as is SVG. And slightly blurry pixels is hardly the end of the world is it? If that's the only problem I'll stick with px.
  - layer8 4y ago
    Low-DPI screens (e.g. Full-HD) are common on desktop systems and laptops, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, due to their lower cost, and due to native applications that aren’t designed for hi-DPI. Pixel-based icons look better on those than vector icons. “Slightly blurry” is the bane of modern visual UI design.
muspimerol 4y ago
That's what the default zoom level is for. There are plenty of people who just need slightly larger text so they can read, but don't want to zoom in every element of the page. Why are you making assumptions about what users want instead of just supporting basic web browser defaults? It's really not that difficult to support.