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Re: Font Resizers (WAS RE: back to top)

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From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Jan 11, 2006 5:20PM

Austin, Darrel wrote:
>>> That isn't the case. Some people need a font far bigger
>> than most of
>>> us would be comfortable with.
>> That still does not prove that there is a need for a font
>> sizing widget on your site, if anything it proves that you
>> should leave it to the browser to deal with that issue.
>
> Except that browsers are stupid. They have no idea what font size I need
> unless I tell them. And until people start figuring out that they should
> tell their browser this information, the font resizing widget serves a
> purpose.

Which then becomes a circular argument: as long as there is a resizing
widget on a page, users will remain blissfully ignorant and assume that,
without such a widget, there is no way for them to resize the text,
which then perpetuates the whole issue.

> True. But their computer might be sitting at home. Or maybe they don't
> have one. Many folks might be accessing your site on the road at a hotel
> kiosk, a library, at school, on a shared work machine, coffee shop,
> cybercafe, friend's laptop, Mom's house, etc., etc.

Wonderful. They may also be 90% visually impaired and access the web on
a deaf friend's machine without any speakers. Let's cater for that
scenario at *our* end as well then...

--
Patrick H. Lauke
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