4 ms·

Amen on the very last line "web fonts are here to stay". I'm amazed that in 2012 I'm still working with developers who act like it's something we may want to tr

Amen on the very last line "web fonts are here to stay". I'm amazed that in 2012 I'm still working with developers who act like it's something we may want to try next year. It's time to realize that this is a technology that should have taken off ten years ago and now it's time to play catch up.

repsilat 14y ago
Not to be contrary, but why should any user not disable web fonts if they can? Unless they're being used as a set of custom vector icons (a la Wingdings), I can't see any real downsides. Without web fonts you never have to deal with the world's worst typography, your pages load faster etc etc... Are we putting up with a worse user experience to gratify some self-absorbed designers? Is this all about letting them properly execute their "grand vision"?
- dools 14y ago
  I would just like to remind downvoters of this comment that a downvote is not a way of disagreeing with someone. This comment is part of a debate about a web technology. It's not a troll or a personal attack, so I think it's perfectly valid, don't you?
- sukuriant 14y ago
  I was thinking the same thing, really. In most cases, I like my pages to look about the same. I like my font some generic, seen-everywhere san serif font, I like my monospace a standard monospace. I have no problems with other fonts existing, but I could easily see some people that do, and would change everything around. For them, there'll be a Firefox (or other) extension that'll turn it off. The valid reasons I could see for a downvote for you are: * asking a question that doesn't further the use of web fonts for their own end --- which seems to be the focus of the article * calling designers "self-absorbed" and implying that novel fonts/etc creates worse user experience.
  - repsilat 14y ago
    GP here, and yeah - downvotes for tone and for going off-topic are probably deserved. The mainstream browser devs have a clear remit to faithfully implement specs as standardised, and to support new and upcoming features as best they can. Mozilla in particular has a vision of just about everything moving to the web, so they're not going to do anything to limit the platform. Things like user preferences, browser extensions and bookmarklets are another field altogether, though, and users should make the web work to their liking as long as they're legally and technically able to.
- gue5t 14y ago
  This is the philosophy we need. Thank you.
- spyder 14y ago
  Why should any user not disable CSS if they can?
- michaelpinto 14y ago
  good typography is a quality user experience. and yes bad typography makes for a bad user experience. but the idea of not having any choices is like going back to the C64 -- at that point why not get rid of those pesky lower case letters? and do you need any other color besides black and green?
youngtaff 14y ago
Too many sites still use custom fonts at small viewports... Now the device might be connected to a fast WiFi network, or it might be connected via GRPS or EDGE. The later case makes the user experience painful if someone has to wait for the fonts before they can see the content.
- lucian1900 14y ago
  Generally one can see content whether or not fonts have been loaded. You might have noticed websites showing one font after load and then very quickly changing font.
  - youngtaff 14y ago
    Depends on how the font is packaged. If the font is packaged as a dataURI in CSS then browsers wait for the CSS to be downloaded before rendering the page to prevent FOUC

repsilat 14y ago

Not to be contrary, but why should any user not disable web fonts if they can? Unless they're being used as a set of custom vector icons (a la Wingdings), I can't see any real downsides. Without web fonts you never have to deal with the world's worst typography, your pages load faster etc etc... Are we putting up with a worse user experience to gratify some self-absorbed designers? Is this all about letting them properly execute their "grand vision"?

dools 14y ago
I would just like to remind downvoters of this comment that a downvote is not a way of disagreeing with someone. This comment is part of a debate about a web technology. It's not a troll or a personal attack, so I think it's perfectly valid, don't you?
sukuriant 14y ago
I was thinking the same thing, really. In most cases, I like my pages to look about the same. I like my font some generic, seen-everywhere san serif font, I like my monospace a standard monospace. I have no problems with other fonts existing, but I could easily see some people that do, and would change everything around. For them, there'll be a Firefox (or other) extension that'll turn it off. The valid reasons I could see for a downvote for you are: * asking a question that doesn't further the use of web fonts for their own end --- which seems to be the focus of the article * calling designers "self-absorbed" and implying that novel fonts/etc creates worse user experience.
- repsilat 14y ago
  GP here, and yeah - downvotes for tone and for going off-topic are probably deserved. The mainstream browser devs have a clear remit to faithfully implement specs as standardised, and to support new and upcoming features as best they can. Mozilla in particular has a vision of just about everything moving to the web, so they're not going to do anything to limit the platform. Things like user preferences, browser extensions and bookmarklets are another field altogether, though, and users should make the web work to their liking as long as they're legally and technically able to.
gue5t 14y ago
This is the philosophy we need. Thank you.
spyder 14y ago
Why should any user not disable CSS if they can?
michaelpinto 14y ago
good typography is a quality user experience. and yes bad typography makes for a bad user experience. but the idea of not having any choices is like going back to the C64 -- at that point why not get rid of those pesky lower case letters? and do you need any other color besides black and green?

youngtaff 14y ago

Too many sites still use custom fonts at small viewports... Now the device might be connected to a fast WiFi network, or it might be connected via GRPS or EDGE. The later case makes the user experience painful if someone has to wait for the fonts before they can see the content.

lucian1900 14y ago
Generally one can see content whether or not fonts have been loaded. You might have noticed websites showing one font after load and then very quickly changing font.
- youngtaff 14y ago
  Depends on how the font is packaged. If the font is packaged as a dataURI in CSS then browsers wait for the CSS to be downloaded before rendering the page to prevent FOUC