Full Version: Readability
I have a couple of suggestions.
1. One of the board’s best, but seemingly underused tools is the “preview post” utility. Using this allows us to see if all the BB code tags are doing what we want them to do. It eliminates problems of telling what is being quoted and what is being said.
2. I like white or negative space, especially double spacing between paragraphs. It makes it much more likely that I will read a post.
http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/readability.cfm#spacing
1. One of the board’s best, but seemingly underused tools is the “preview post” utility. Using this allows us to see if all the BB code tags are doing what we want them to do. It eliminates problems of telling what is being quoted and what is being said.
2. I like white or negative space, especially double spacing between paragraphs. It makes it much more likely that I will read a post.
http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/readability.cfm#spacing
Great suggestions, BoF. Thanks for posting these!
Another thing I want to point out is that we have an "RTE" now-- a Rich Text Editor.
In the posting window, click the image in the upper-right hand corner. It looks like this:
It will switch you from the Standard editor to the Rich Text Editor. It will allow you to see a lot of the stylizing (bold, italic, underline, etc) in your posts, as you apply them, as well as emoticons. Think Microsoft Word-- it's kind of like that.
Mike
Another thing I want to point out is that we have an "RTE" now-- a Rich Text Editor.
In the posting window, click the image in the upper-right hand corner. It looks like this:
It will switch you from the Standard editor to the Rich Text Editor. It will allow you to see a lot of the stylizing (bold, italic, underline, etc) in your posts, as you apply them, as well as emoticons. Think Microsoft Word-- it's kind of like that.
Mike
QUOTE(BoF @ May 9 2007, 05:20 PM) 
I have a couple of suggestions.
1. One of the board’s best, but seemingly underused tools is the “preview post” utility. Using this allows us to see if all the BB code tags are doing what we want them to do. It eliminates problems of telling what is being quoted and what is being said.
2. I like white or negative space, especially double spacing between paragraphs. It makes it much more likely that I will read a post.
http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/readability.cfm#spacing
1. One of the board’s best, but seemingly underused tools is the “preview post” utility. Using this allows us to see if all the BB code tags are doing what we want them to do. It eliminates problems of telling what is being quoted and what is being said.
2. I like white or negative space, especially double spacing between paragraphs. It makes it much more likely that I will read a post.
http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/readability.cfm#spacing
Prieview is your friend... and except for CR please consider spell checking. If you can, use Firefox, it has a built in, in line spell checker!
Double spacing between paragraphs isn't a bad idea but one I probably wouldn't use. As it is I am constantly trying to "save space" in posts. I hate scrolling!
QUOTE(BaphometsAdvocate @ May 10 2007, 07:40 PM)
Prieview is your friend... and except for CR please consider spell checking. If you can, use Firefox, it has a built in, in line spell checker!
BA, your suggestions are welcome, but I didn't start this as a practice tee for taking free swings at CR.
QUOTE(BoF @ May 10 2007, 11:54 PM)
QUOTE(BaphometsAdvocate @ May 10 2007, 07:40 PM)
Prieview is your friend... and except for CR please consider spell checking. If you can, use Firefox, it has a built in, in line spell checker!
BA, your suggestions are welcome, but I didn't start this as a practice tee for taking free swings at CR.
*must use maximum verbosity for BoF*
CR, in his signature, mentions that he refuses to spell correctly.
QUOTE
"spelling correctly is for folks who are too dumb to think for themselves and can only memorize things" - Kickstand
CR doesn't need yours, or anyone else's help in protecting his online persona. Relax. Have some fun once in a while. And, please, my PM box is at -2 messages... feel free to PM this sort of thing.
***
You know what else I find useful in readability? Wrapping the QUOTE tag against the text I am quoting:
*QUOTE*Text of that which I am quoting*/QUOTE*
This saves totally unnecessary white (gray?) space.
QUOTE(BaphometsAdvocate @ May 10 2007, 07:40 PM)
Double spacing between paragraphs isn't a bad idea but one I probably wouldn't use. As it is I am constantly trying to "save space" in posts. I hate scrolling!
I think we have a misunderstanding about the meaning and role of whitespace in readability. Here is how one of your recent posts looked on screen.
QUOTE(BaphometsAdvocate @ Apr 30 2007, 08:05 AM)
I want to make clear before I type this... I AM FOR CHOICE. I AM FOR CHOICE. Making me PRO CHOICE. There are situations that warrant abortions that go beyond a mother's health, rape, incest - etc. I am for a woman's right to make a choice.
Without the Religious baggage that often gets pulled into this and without hysterical "Think of the children!" bleats there is a point when we as a society must ALSO consider the "rights" of a child. Which brings us to the sticky wicket of; when is a fetus a baby? I don't suspect that answer will ever come on an internet debate board.
The problem is the extremists on each side. The Abortion On Demand group, and the Every Sperm Is Sacred group. They exist. They push their agendas. They have lobbists and while we may disregard them pollsters and politicos do not there for we must at the very least monitor them. Meanwhile the cooler heads must come to some kind of recognition of "life". Many of us on this very board have it in our heads that when a fetus can live out of the womb it's a done deal. That kid is an American imbued with the unalieable rights our Founding Fathers spoke of in so many documents. (snark) Others feel that since a child would die without a caregiver they are fair game until (I guess) they're about 9. (/snark)
Until that line is drawn this debate will never be resolved in a remotely satisfactory way to anyone.
Without the Religious baggage that often gets pulled into this and without hysterical "Think of the children!" bleats there is a point when we as a society must ALSO consider the "rights" of a child. Which brings us to the sticky wicket of; when is a fetus a baby? I don't suspect that answer will ever come on an internet debate board.
The problem is the extremists on each side. The Abortion On Demand group, and the Every Sperm Is Sacred group. They exist. They push their agendas. They have lobbists and while we may disregard them pollsters and politicos do not there for we must at the very least monitor them. Meanwhile the cooler heads must come to some kind of recognition of "life". Many of us on this very board have it in our heads that when a fetus can live out of the womb it's a done deal. That kid is an American imbued with the unalieable rights our Founding Fathers spoke of in so many documents. (snark) Others feel that since a child would die without a caregiver they are fair game until (I guess) they're about 9.
(/snark) Until that line is drawn this debate will never be resolved in a remotely satisfactory way to anyone.
This looks good to me.
This has white space between each paragraph. Each block of thought is separated by white space. This is exactly what I was suggesting in the original post.Here is how it would have looked without the white space.
QUOTE(BaphometsAdvocate w/o white space)
I want to make clear before I type this... I AM FOR CHOICE. I AM FOR CHOICE. Making me PRO CHOICE. There are situations that warrant abortions that go beyond a mother's health, rape, incest - etc. I am for a woman's right to make a choice.
Without the Religious baggage that often gets pulled into this and without hysterical "Think of the children!" bleats there is a point when we as a society must ALSO consider the "rights" of a child. Which brings us to the sticky wicket of; when is a fetus a baby? I don't suspect that answer will ever come on an internet debate board.
The problem is the extremists on each side. The Abortion On Demand group, and the Every Sperm Is Sacred group. They exist. They push their agendas. They have lobbists and while we may disregard them pollsters and politicos do not there for we must at the very least monitor them. Meanwhile the cooler heads must come to some kind of recognition of "life". Many of us on this very board have it in our heads that when a fetus can live out of the womb it's a done deal. That kid is an American imbued with the unalieable rights our Founding Fathers spoke of in so many documents. (snark) Others feel that since a child would die without a caregiver they are fair game until (I guess) they're about 9. (/snark)
Until that line is drawn this debate will never be resolved in a remotely satisfactory way to anyone.
Without the Religious baggage that often gets pulled into this and without hysterical "Think of the children!" bleats there is a point when we as a society must ALSO consider the "rights" of a child. Which brings us to the sticky wicket of; when is a fetus a baby? I don't suspect that answer will ever come on an internet debate board.
The problem is the extremists on each side. The Abortion On Demand group, and the Every Sperm Is Sacred group. They exist. They push their agendas. They have lobbists and while we may disregard them pollsters and politicos do not there for we must at the very least monitor them. Meanwhile the cooler heads must come to some kind of recognition of "life". Many of us on this very board have it in our heads that when a fetus can live out of the womb it's a done deal. That kid is an American imbued with the unalieable rights our Founding Fathers spoke of in so many documents. (snark) Others feel that since a child would die without a caregiver they are fair game until (I guess) they're about 9.
(/snark) Until that line is drawn this debate will never be resolved in a remotely satisfactory way to anyone.
Harder to read? Less appealing aesthetically? I think so, but I have seen posts like this - even much longer ones. In practice you do what you were arguing against. I hope this clears up any unnecessarily muddied waters.
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