4 ms·

Quot capita tot sensus. How is it that you merely "think" you've got it, but in your own words immediately after admitting that, you demonstrate quite clearly

Quot capita tot sensus. How is it that you merely "think" you've got it, but in your own words immediately after admitting that, you demonstrate quite clearly that you actually did in fact understand? If you want to make friends, that's your prerogative. You were informed, and you demonstrate that you got my point. I don't care for your etiquette or aesthetics of communication. [Added:] I see no lack of understanding of my point here, but only disagreeing opinion on what counts as an acceptable font, which is question begging, and factual inaccuracies. And I want you to understand that this angers me. That is part of my point: I am angry, and yes, it is a rant. It's not clear to me how that is relevant or even a criticism. I am mad about this. I want that to be understood and clear. If you immediately picked up on my "rant-y" style, then I have succeeded at doing what it is I set out to do. At the same time, phrases like "absolutely sick," I am quite sure, tipped you off, and such phrases will tip most readers off. I honestly do not feel the need to add the disclaimer: "this is a rant." Most ranters don't, who are truly ranting, rather than being critical. If what you mean to suggest is that rants exclude or prevent the flow of information, then as demonstrated by the numerous replies here, information was not impeded and critical dialogue is sitting along side and emotional/personal issue. I personally think it asks too much of one to set aside how they personally are affected, given the nature and gravity of the situation being mentioned (i.e., the scope and unwitting lack of sensitivity to dyslexia sufferers). I have provided my arguments and points. And I am mad. It is quite clear to me that most of you are perfectly processing both of those informative gestures.

mmastrac 14y ago
If you want to keep interacting with people in this way, it's up to you. I'm just letting you know that it's terribly ineffective.
- nerdfiles 14y ago
  That depends on what your goals are. I want to surround myself with those who are willing to fervently argue their ideas, and those who do not or cannot: I have nothing to learn from them. And it would be terribly presumptuous of you to assume that my persona given here is found in all of my social activities. If you assume this, you're not being fair (really, to yourself). You need to understand that a handicapped person just hit a Web page, out of the hundreds, if not thousands, that are hit a day, that, in my understanding, just overrides that dyslexic person's crutch, that handicapped person's wheelchair. When that page loaded, I personally _felt like_ someone (accidentally) kicked my crutch out from under me, or criticized me because I am not able to perform as well because of a handicap. This is how accessibility issues play out[1]; people feel hurt and victimized by facts of their obscurity which they cannot control. I am very confident that you are not fully appreciating the gravity of the issue here. [1] http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/
  - mmastrac 14y ago
    >I am very confident that you are not fully appreciating the gravity of the issue here. [1] http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ Being penalized 1/100 of 1% of revenue doesn't really inspire a sense of urgency or "gravity". Seems like it might be worth it for companies to wait until they get sued before taking accessibility seriously.
    - nerdfiles 14y ago
      Something about what you're saying here intuitively seems wrong. I'm sure W3C finds issues like these important.
  - lazerwalker 14y ago
    You're correct that your "rant-y" format does not exclude or prevent the flow of information, but what it does do is make people far less inclined to internalize or act on that information. I assume your goal is to get people to say, "this is a problem that should be fixed, so I'm going to fix it". The tone and methods with which you're communicating in this discussion are much more likely to get people to say, "this is a problem that should be fixed, but the only people who care about it are assholes, so I see no reason to help them." You appear to be well-intentioned, and your anger is more than justified, but it's important to recognize when toning down your hostility (which, to be clear, doesn't necessarily mean masking your passion and ferver) is a necessary step towards enacting positive change.
  - salemh 14y ago
    Another possibility would be to post a blog/article which references and links all of the design practices you take offence with, and then diatribe so as not to clutter HN threads of discussion on the subject matter and not the design aspects of the site. Submit this, then, to HN.
  - nerdfiles 14y ago
    @lazywalker I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I'm a dime out of a dozen who is actually at least talking about this issue. I'm happy if it is a rocky start. But I side with Wittgenstein: "My difficulty is only an — enormous — difficulty of expression."
ucee054 14y ago
Are you complaining about Hacker News fonts or Dave Winer's fonts? Because if your beef is with Dave Winer's fonts, you better email him or rant on his site directly. No one on Hacker News is responsible.

mmastrac 14y ago

If you want to keep interacting with people in this way, it's up to you. I'm just letting you know that it's terribly ineffective.

nerdfiles 14y ago
That depends on what your goals are. I want to surround myself with those who are willing to fervently argue their ideas, and those who do not or cannot: I have nothing to learn from them. And it would be terribly presumptuous of you to assume that my persona given here is found in all of my social activities. If you assume this, you're not being fair (really, to yourself). You need to understand that a handicapped person just hit a Web page, out of the hundreds, if not thousands, that are hit a day, that, in my understanding, just overrides that dyslexic person's crutch, that handicapped person's wheelchair. When that page loaded, I personally _felt like_ someone (accidentally) kicked my crutch out from under me, or criticized me because I am not able to perform as well because of a handicap. This is how accessibility issues play out[1]; people feel hurt and victimized by facts of their obscurity which they cannot control. I am very confident that you are not fully appreciating the gravity of the issue here. [1] http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/
- mmastrac 14y ago
  >I am very confident that you are not fully appreciating the gravity of the issue here. [1] http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ http://webaim.org/blog/target-lawsuit-settled/ Being penalized 1/100 of 1% of revenue doesn't really inspire a sense of urgency or "gravity". Seems like it might be worth it for companies to wait until they get sued before taking accessibility seriously.
  - nerdfiles 14y ago
    Something about what you're saying here intuitively seems wrong. I'm sure W3C finds issues like these important.
- lazerwalker 14y ago
  You're correct that your "rant-y" format does not exclude or prevent the flow of information, but what it does do is make people far less inclined to internalize or act on that information. I assume your goal is to get people to say, "this is a problem that should be fixed, so I'm going to fix it". The tone and methods with which you're communicating in this discussion are much more likely to get people to say, "this is a problem that should be fixed, but the only people who care about it are assholes, so I see no reason to help them." You appear to be well-intentioned, and your anger is more than justified, but it's important to recognize when toning down your hostility (which, to be clear, doesn't necessarily mean masking your passion and ferver) is a necessary step towards enacting positive change.
- salemh 14y ago
  Another possibility would be to post a blog/article which references and links all of the design practices you take offence with, and then diatribe so as not to clutter HN threads of discussion on the subject matter and not the design aspects of the site. Submit this, then, to HN.
- nerdfiles 14y ago
  @lazywalker I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I'm a dime out of a dozen who is actually at least talking about this issue. I'm happy if it is a rocky start. But I side with Wittgenstein: "My difficulty is only an — enormous — difficulty of expression."

ucee054 14y ago

Are you complaining about Hacker News fonts or Dave Winer's fonts? Because if your beef is with Dave Winer's fonts, you better email him or rant on his site directly. No one on Hacker News is responsible.