5 ms·

What is the point of inserting a "◊" before each link? It looks ridiculous and distracts from reading the article.

jccooper 12y ago
Because it's a web-based book? I've browsed about and haven't seen a clear explanation. (It took a while to figure out what the hell is going on at that site.) Apparently he considers underlining a sin against typography [http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html] as one of the "bad typewriter habits" [http://practicaltypography.com/typewriter-habits.html http://practicaltypography.com/typewriter-habits.html]. That might be why. Which is funny, because one of his other rules is against abusing ALL CAPS [http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html]--which http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html]--which he does for internal links. The site is also full of other absurd usability choices, like using the blank edges of the page for navigation [http://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html http://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html]. The author might know good typography for books, but has gone way overboard applying it to his website.
- matthewmcg 12y ago
  Agreed, but he doesn't use ALL CAPS for internal links. If you look closely[1], you'll see he uses small caps which are typographically distinct. [1] check the a.xref stylein his CSS: http://practicaltypography.com/styles.css http://practicaltypography.com/styles.css
- chipotle_coyote 12y ago
  Using the edges of the pages for navigation as the only option would be ridiculous, but it's not; there are conventional navigation links. Think about reading this on a tablet, where a lot of ebook readers have a convention of turning "pages" by touching the left or right side of the screen, and this may make more sense. Underlining in the typewriter style is a sin against typography. :) I don't like the way Butterick's chosen to do links here, though; the lozenge mark seems kind of twee, like he's choosing to make a stand against both underlining and color changes at the expense of both readability and learned behavior. (Most of us by now associate both underlines and blue inline text, whether in conjunction or separately, with "click this to make something happen.")
  - logicallee 12y ago
    I accidentally navigated away from the page I was reading about 8 times (clicking back each time) through stray clicks on the left or right margin where there wasn't anything there.
- illicium 12y ago
  Not to mention the 24px body type that fits less than two paragraphs per page
  - dublinben 12y ago
    It was the aggressive hyphenation of words that really did it for me.
  - maemilius 12y ago
    This. The first thing I did when I got to his page was turn that to, like, 18px. Infinitely easier to read, imo.
- eCa 12y ago
  > Apparently he considers underlining a sin against typography But only as a way to add emphasis. The last point of the page[1] implies that he is ok with underlining links. [1] http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html
- fit2rule 12y ago
  It may not work for you on the web, but I've been reading his book with my tablets (both Android and iPad) and I'm finding the experience really positive. Its fresh, clean, and after reading a single page of a chapter I am comfortable with the usability of the rest of the book. Certainly some 'rules' are broken, and it can ruffle feathers. But I don't think any progress is made without feather-rufflage. This book is a really great example of a readable, usable piece of literature, published on the web, and feels like a next-generation book. I like it.
spc476 12y ago
I think he's experimenting with linking to other documents. I did something similar as an experiment (http://www.conman.org/people/spc/writings/hypertext/fragment/ http://www.conman.org/people/spc/writings/hypertext/fragment...) but ended up just sticking with the default underlines.

Because it's a web-based book? I've browsed about and haven't seen a clear explanation. (It took a while to figure out what the hell is going on at that site.) Apparently he considers underlining a sin against typography [http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html] as one of the "bad typewriter habits" [http://practicaltypography.com/typewriter-habits.html http://practicaltypography.com/typewriter-habits.html]. That might be why. Which is funny, because one of his other rules is against abusing ALL CAPS [http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html]--which http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html]--which he does for internal links. The site is also full of other absurd usability choices, like using the blank edges of the page for navigation [http://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html http://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html]. The author might know good typography for books, but has gone way overboard applying it to his website.

matthewmcg 12y ago
Agreed, but he doesn't use ALL CAPS for internal links. If you look closely[1], you'll see he uses small caps which are typographically distinct. [1] check the a.xref stylein his CSS: http://practicaltypography.com/styles.css http://practicaltypography.com/styles.css
chipotle_coyote 12y ago
Using the edges of the pages for navigation as the only option would be ridiculous, but it's not; there are conventional navigation links. Think about reading this on a tablet, where a lot of ebook readers have a convention of turning "pages" by touching the left or right side of the screen, and this may make more sense. Underlining in the typewriter style is a sin against typography. :) I don't like the way Butterick's chosen to do links here, though; the lozenge mark seems kind of twee, like he's choosing to make a stand against both underlining and color changes at the expense of both readability and learned behavior. (Most of us by now associate both underlines and blue inline text, whether in conjunction or separately, with "click this to make something happen.")
- logicallee 12y ago
  I accidentally navigated away from the page I was reading about 8 times (clicking back each time) through stray clicks on the left or right margin where there wasn't anything there.
illicium 12y ago
Not to mention the 24px body type that fits less than two paragraphs per page
- dublinben 12y ago
  It was the aggressive hyphenation of words that really did it for me.
- maemilius 12y ago
  This. The first thing I did when I got to his page was turn that to, like, 18px. Infinitely easier to read, imo.
eCa 12y ago
> Apparently he considers underlining a sin against typography But only as a way to add emphasis. The last point of the page[1] implies that he is ok with underlining links. [1] http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html http://practicaltypography.com/underlining.html
fit2rule 12y ago
It may not work for you on the web, but I've been reading his book with my tablets (both Android and iPad) and I'm finding the experience really positive. Its fresh, clean, and after reading a single page of a chapter I am comfortable with the usability of the rest of the book. Certainly some 'rules' are broken, and it can ruffle feathers. But I don't think any progress is made without feather-rufflage. This book is a really great example of a readable, usable piece of literature, published on the web, and feels like a next-generation book. I like it.

spc476 12y ago

I think he's experimenting with linking to other documents. I did something similar as an experiment (http://www.conman.org/people/spc/writings/hypertext/fragment/ http://www.conman.org/people/spc/writings/hypertext/fragment...) but ended up just sticking with the default underlines.