LJ layouts and other stuff

[wiseheart]

I'm definitely getting old. Small fonts never bothered me before, but now I find I have to stop looking up a lot of LJs - not those of my friends, as my friendslist is displayed the same way my main page does - but many other communities or personal journals. Increasingly more people (and mantainer) seem to prefer a layout with waaaay too small fonts for my wee old eyes.

*pouts* How am I supposed to read fanfiction, when I can't you know, read it?

I think I should find a way to show the stuff behind the tag in the same configuration on otherworlds_lib than on the front page. It *should* be possible, as I've seen other people doing that. I just need to figure out *how* to do it. The front page has such nice, big font, extremely reader-friendly.

On the other hand, reposting "Alternate Caretaker" is really great fun. This is the story that caused the most controverse in the Pit of Voles and got the most flames. I'm still very happy with it, especially with Chapter 11, where I found a neat alternative to the Caretaker as shown in the series. I think my amorphous energy being with its many appendages is a lot more interesting than the unshaved, senile old man they showed us in the pilot. To bad nobody ever seemed to recognize the achievement, but it's their loss.

I did a lot of neat things in that story, I think. The Benzite babies are cute, and will provide interesting storytelling possibilities in te future. Someone on FF.Net once complained that the story doesn't seem that difficult from the original - well, they should have gone further than Chapter 3 or 4 or whatnot. My stories seldom happen in two chapters... this is a looooooooong and convulted storyline.

Comments

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Your browser should have an option to increase text size - under View or Page, depending on what you're using.

Some browsers (i.e. Internet Explorer) can't resize some text (it depends on how the designer specified the font size). In that case, you could try Firefox or Opera.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yep, I use IE - and I'm not up to the challenge, technically, to change that fact. Whenever the site in question allows, I read it using pt 12 Arial font (my browser default setting), which is ideal, but LJ doesn' work that way.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

The challenge might be less than you imagine. Firefox takes literally a few minutes to download and install, and its basic controls/menus are the same as IE's. (It also has a built-in ad blocker and various helpful features.) It depends on which bothers you most - browsers or the small text ;)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm the idiot who can't even post to her own website, so... You can't even begin to imagine my utter stupidity when it comes to web skills.

I'm trying... God knows I'm trying, but the results are fairly devastating. *g*

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

In that case, something easier (though less effective): from the Windows Start menu, Accessories > Accessibility > Magnifier.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Sorry - your computer won't have those terms, of course! But there should be a set of tools to help people with lower vision, including one that acts like a magnifying glass.

[larian.livejournal.com]

View --> Text Size --> Larger.

I do that. saves the eyes too.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I know that, theoretically. Alas, it doesn't work with LJ and with a great deal of other sites.

[larian.livejournal.com]

ah, then you need to switch to firefox. it always works then.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Heh. You're talking to the ultimate techno-idiot here. I'm barely capable of using my existing browser, much less to switch to anything else.

Although it would be nice if I could at least figure out how to change the font size on edhellondawards, at the very least.

Oh, BTW, this week's quizzie is about Elves entirely. I've just posted it, I think you're gonna like it. *g*

[cirdan-havens.livejournal.com]

My only suggestiong would be to increase the font with the browser view option if it allows for that. Otherwise, yeah, those fonts do get really tiny. I think the kids like to do it to seem cute? And the light pastel blue text on white isn't that much better. I end up needing to highlight the text in order to read it.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, all those pastel colours with tiny fonts make your eyes roll out of your skull. And sometimes I'm just too annoyed to bother with highlighting or any other countermeasures. I simply decide that it's just not worth the effort.

[jilba.livejournal.com]

I think what I find more frustrating than font size is webpages whose background and font colours don't contrast; that is something impossible to read even with admittedly old glasses, like pea green and a greenish-yellow. It would fine, if you pick out the text!

Still intending to pop over to Otherworlds in the nearish future...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, at least Otherworlds is a reader-friendly page with sombre blacks and whites - and nice, biiig fonts. *g*

You know, I have this community I originally created for my ex-students to stay in contact. As they never actually used it, I'm now experienting with it - with layout, colours, that sort of stuff. Most of the colour combinations are simply horrible - not only ugly, they also make reading impossible, as you said.

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Biig fonts are great! as I've been sight impaired all my life..

Wow, what will you do with this community once you've finished playing with it?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I dunno. Probably delete it. But I might keep it, to try out the new, shiny tools LJ keeps bringing forth, without destroying the actually important communities with my experiments. *g*

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

I have a few LJ friends who have formatted their journals in ridiculously small formats - and one also uses light pink type on a white background! I've thought about trying to tactfully mention the readability issue, because I'm sure i'm not the only person who has trouble with their journals.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm wondering, too, why so many people seem to like the colours of ice cream gone wrong. *g*

As for the readability issue, I simply decided not to read those journals. My eyesight is weak enough as it is, and I intend to use those poor eyes for a while yet.

Oh, and BTW, thanks for the medical advice re: my character with the lost leg. I'll answer your mail - hopefully - soon. :)