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[OT] Comic sans

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Jon B

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Jul 10, 2004, 11:48:05 AM7/10/04
to
Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
post this link

<http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

--
Jon
Remove "usenetspam" from address above to reply

Message has been deleted

Wayne Stuart

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Jul 10, 2004, 12:09:15 PM7/10/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

Oh dear! My whole site is based on Comic Sans! Oh, how foolish do I
look now! ;-)

--
This message was brought to you by Wayne Stuart - Have a nice day!

Bella Jones

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Jul 10, 2004, 2:48:22 PM7/10/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

Heh!

--
bellajonez at yahoo dot co dot uk

SteveH

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Jul 10, 2004, 3:03:55 PM7/10/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

Lovely.

<hangs head in shame>

I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
company standard font these days.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Elliott Roper

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Jul 10, 2004, 6:21:57 PM7/10/04
to
In article <1ggq50q.13eijc912knqb5N%st...@italiancar.co.uk>, SteveH
<st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> > Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> > post this link
> >
> > <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>
>
> Lovely.
>
> <hangs head in shame>
>
> I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> company standard font these days.

It is a snobbery thing. It is a Microsoft font. Therefore it is fair
game.
You could always say it was Tekto.

Me, I never use Helvetica in case the ignorant mistake it for Arial

pretentious? moi?

--
I thought I would be the last on earth to mangle my e-mail address.
fsnospam$elliott$$

SteveH

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Jul 10, 2004, 6:26:16 PM7/10/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> In article <1ggq50q.13eijc912knqb5N%st...@italiancar.co.uk>, SteveH
> <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> > > post this link
> > >
> > > <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>
> >
> > Lovely.
> >
> > <hangs head in shame>
> >
> > I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> > company standard font these days.
>
> It is a snobbery thing. It is a Microsoft font. Therefore it is fair
> game.
> You could always say it was Tekto.

In my case, I don't give a damn who published it. I hate it with a
passion, always have done. It's unprofessional, IMHO.

> Me, I never use Helvetica in case the ignorant mistake it for Arial
>
> pretentious? moi?

If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
usually.

Elliott Roper

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Jul 10, 2004, 6:43:25 PM7/10/04
to
In article <1ggqedn.fy2wpch9115bN%st...@italiancar.co.uk>, SteveH
<st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > In article <1ggq50q.13eijc912knqb5N%st...@italiancar.co.uk>, SteveH
> > <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> > > > post this link
> > > >
> > > > <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>
> > >
> > > Lovely.
> > >
> > > <hangs head in shame>
> > >
> > > I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> > > company standard font these days.
> >
> > It is a snobbery thing. It is a Microsoft font. Therefore it is fair
> > game.
> > You could always say it was Tekto.
>
> In my case, I don't give a damn who published it. I hate it with a
> passion, always have done. It's unprofessional, IMHO.

Yes.


>
> > Me, I never use Helvetica in case the ignorant mistake it for Arial
> >
> > pretentious? moi?
>
> If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
> usually.

Ooh goody a font discussion! Much better than iTunes playlists..

Currently I'm on a Gill Sans kick if I want it formal looking.
Otherwise its a tossup between Optima and Futura. I don't use sans
fonts much, except for diagram labels and stuff.

I'm wedded to Adobe Garamond for serif body type. It is just too
elegant not to use it. I use Poppl Laudatio variations for heads and
similar in Word docs. Just enough to say I care about how it looks. It
is a pity that Word's idea of typography is down there with ransom
notes.

Message has been deleted

SteveH

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Jul 10, 2004, 7:35:56 PM7/10/04
to
Steve Firth <usene...@malloc.co.uk> wrote:

> SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use?
>

> Garamond. I hate Sans Serif fonts they are much harder to read.

Hmmmm. I tend to gravitate towards Sans Serif fonts as they're less
stuffy and formal, IMHO.

Peter Ceresole

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Jul 11, 2004, 2:40:19 AM7/11/04
to
SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Hmmmm. I tend to gravitate towards Sans Serif fonts as they're less
> stuffy and formal, IMHO.

There have been studies about which I remember reading a long time ago
(I can't quote them or give a url though) that showed that serifed fonts
are easier and quicker to read. In blocks of text on the page (as
opposed to large isolated words) I'd say from personal experience that
that was true. Large blocks of 10 or 12 pt sanserif are almost
impossible to read fluently on screen or page.
--
Peter

r@y

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Jul 11, 2004, 3:11:16 AM7/11/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

It's accepted practice in web design to use sans serif because it
displays cleaner on screen. Verdana for example was developed
specifically for screen displays. This is historic as high resolution
screens now render neater serifs.
But Times New Roman still looks naff at large point sizes and I could
never understand its use as a default font.


--
to email me please go here
http://www.dream-weaver.com/email.html
iChat AV datasmog7

Peter Ceresole

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Jul 11, 2004, 3:52:48 AM7/11/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> But Times New Roman still looks naff at large point sizes and I could
> never understand its use as a default font.

What do you call 'large'? This isn't a challenge of any kind- it's a
genuine question.

I look at the printed material around me, and all the 'reading' as
opposed to 'displaying' text- I mean body as opposed to headline- is
serifed and for very good reason. I take your point about screen rez,
but on Macs for instance, since the first compact models with their
relatively high-rez screens, I've always had a preference for serifed
fonts. They are simply nicer to look at and easier to read.

As for New Times Roman, I've always found it over-stiff and cramped-
much preferred Apple's old favourite Palatino.
--
Peter

Bella Jones

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Jul 11, 2004, 4:36:56 AM7/11/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[snip fonts]



> It's accepted practice in web design to use sans serif because it
> displays cleaner on screen. Verdana for example was developed
> specifically for screen displays. This is historic as high resolution
> screens now render neater serifs.

And we know everyone's views on Verdana, ISTR. :-)

> But Times New Roman still looks naff at large point sizes and I could
> never understand its use as a default font.

Why is it so naff? I guess because it's so small and cramped, and just
screeches 'the early days of the homepage'. Like PeterC, I use Palatino.

Peter Ceresole

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Jul 11, 2004, 4:50:15 AM7/11/04
to
Bella Jones <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> > But Times New Roman still looks naff at large point sizes and I could
> > never understand its use as a default font.
>
> Why is it so naff? I guess because it's so small and cramped, and just
> screeches 'the early days of the homepage'. Like PeterC, I use Palatino.

For me the comparison is in the treatment of loops; they are much more
generous and outgoing (really sharp, technical analysis here, of course
you're amused by its presumption) than they are in Times New Roman. But
there is a real difference, and Palatino feels much better as a result.
--
Peter

Bella Jones

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Jul 11, 2004, 6:04:55 AM7/11/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

[snip fonts]

> > If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
> > usually.

> Ooh goody a font discussion! Much better than iTunes playlists..
>
> Currently I'm on a Gill Sans kick if I want it formal looking.
> Otherwise its a tossup between Optima and Futura. I don't use sans
> fonts much, except for diagram labels and stuff.

I find Arial/Helvetica a bit cramped and mean, as well as Times. Just
did a test in TextEdit, (oh, the displacement activity), and oddly, they
were identical. 'Helvetica CE' looked different though.



> I'm wedded to Adobe Garamond for serif body type. It is just too
> elegant not to use it.

Actually, that is a *really* nice font. But are there any problems using
it in Word? Not sure what I mean by that, except that it's not in
everybody's font book/palette. I had to dig it out of an InDesign
'Goodies' folder.

>I use Poppl Laudatio variations for heads and
> similar in Word docs. Just enough to say I care about how it looks. It
> is a pity that Word's idea of typography is down there with ransom
> notes.

Found that in my machine, but it's 'LWFN' and won't open in Font Book.

Sir Chewbury Gubbins

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Jul 11, 2004, 6:51:39 AM7/11/04
to
SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
> If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
> usually.

Damn tootin - it's the One True Font(tm)

Choobs

--
Sir Chewbury Gubbins <chewbury...@nelefa.org>
Knight of the Wholly Gnarly Widget - http://www.nelefa.org
Gamertag: ChewburyGubbins

Sak Wathanasin

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Jul 11, 2004, 6:53:24 AM7/11/04
to
In article <1ggr6zd.1no5vyrdzggieN%pe...@cara.demon.co.uk>,
pe...@cara.demon.co.uk (Peter Ceresole) wrote:

> For me the comparison is in the treatment of loops; they are much more
> generous and outgoing (really sharp, technical analysis here, of course
> you're amused by its presumption)

Been years since I read Thurber; must blow the cobwebs off my copy of "Best
of.."

> than they are in Times New Roman. But
> there is a real difference, and Palatino feels much better as a result.

Palatino can be a little quirky (esp the capital "P") for setting large
blocks of text. There is no one right font, of course. I like Alison Black's
"Typefaces for desktop publishing: a user guide" for a general discussion of
the issues; it's aimed at the layman rather than people in the trade.

--

Sak Wathanasin
Network Analysis Limited
http://www.network-analysis.ltd.uk

Debbie Wilson

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Jul 11, 2004, 7:25:39 AM7/11/04
to
SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
> usually.

Skia :-)))
I'm trying to subconsciously influence clients with the Jurassic Park
style thing and get juicy palaeo art jobs......

Deb.
--
http://www.scientific-art.com

"He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would;
He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield

r@y

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Jul 11, 2004, 7:48:21 AM7/11/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > But Times New Roman still looks naff at large point sizes and I could
> > never understand its use as a default font.
>
> What do you call 'large'? This isn't a challenge of any kind- it's a
> genuine question.
>

On screen not on the printed page, although higher resolution screens
make it better. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, I just don't
like it on screen, at larger point sizes the serifs start to look rough
to me. There are better serif alternatives as you have pointed out.

Elliott Roper

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Jul 11, 2004, 9:34:40 AM7/11/04
to
In article <1ggqfs6.fi1w5vspac93N%m...@privacy.net>, Bella Jones
<m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:
>

> > I'm wedded to Adobe Garamond for serif body type. It is just too
> > elegant not to use it.
>
> Actually, that is a *really* nice font. But are there any problems using
> it in Word? Not sure what I mean by that, except that it's not in
> everybody's font book/palette. I had to dig it out of an InDesign
> 'Goodies' folder.

I think there is a Garamond in the Office distro. Not Adobe's version.
Adobe has two, the Other is Adobe Garamond Pro, which is an Open Type
Font. OTF is supposed to play really well with Unicode, so I am
changing all my Word body styles to use Pro so that I am ready for Word
2004 once I see how any early teething troubles with it pan out for
others.

Other than that, AGaramond has been as good as any other font in Word
v.X. Of course, while collaborating with users on the dark side, I have
to fall back to the ghastlies they have available. I don't know anyone
who uses a PC that cares about typography; they are all past help.

Word is pretty bloody awful in the typography department. Its H&J is
really wierd. It arbitrarily changes leading. It gets interword space
in comments totally screwed, even in TNR. It won't hang punctuation,
and has a mind of its own when deciding whether to inhibit space before
on column tops and page tops.


>
> >I use Poppl Laudatio variations for heads and
> > similar in Word docs. Just enough to say I care about how it looks. It
> > is a pity that Word's idea of typography is down there with ransom
> > notes.
>
> Found that in my machine, but it's 'LWFN' and won't open in Font Book.

It is here too, but it does show up. Maybe you are missing the suitcase
file for it? (I'm outta my depth here. If it works, its perfect. If it
doesn't, I bin it)

bogus address

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Jul 11, 2004, 7:54:25 AM7/11/04
to

> There have been studies about which I remember reading a long time
> ago (I can't quote them or give a url though) that showed that
> serifed fonts are easier and quicker to read. In blocks of text on
> the page (as opposed to large isolated words) I'd say from personal
> experience that that was true.

Maybe. I tested this once by printing the same block of justified
text in several different typefaces and seeing how far away I could
read it. Palatino won by a long way.

But: I go to folk singing sessions, where it's usual for people to
bring folders with the texts of things they haven't yet memorized.
These are left-justified, rarely more than 8 lines per stanza.
I soon realized that for people with ageing eyesight, Comic Sans
was by far the best choice. I didn't think of it myself; I just
found I could kibitz other people's songbooks from further away if
they used Comic Sans.

Any real typographers out there know how Comic Sans was developed?
I'd guess that unlike Computer Modern it had some usability research
behind it.

========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music.

r@y

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Jul 11, 2004, 11:29:14 AM7/11/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

I'm speaking from the web development point of view and like it or not
the majority of people view the web through Windows. So if you specify a
font on a web page you have to be sure the majority of viewers have
access to it. Palatino Linotype was not available pre installed on
Windows 9x. It didn't become available pre installed until Windows 2000
and only reached the home user with XP. There are other serif fonts
available pre installed with all flavours of Windows, but it's only
relatively recently that the web developer could be fairly sure a
Windows user would have a screen resolution capable of displaying them
in a reasonable fashion. Hence the overwhelming use of sans serif on the
web.

r@y

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Jul 11, 2004, 11:29:14 AM7/11/04
to
bogus address <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>
> Any real typographers out there know how Comic Sans was developed?
> I'd guess that unlike Computer Modern it had some usability research
> behind it.

The story goes it was developed by a guy called Vincent Connare at
Microsoft, based on comic book lettering. Maybe they figured the core
Windows user reads comics, I don't know. <shrug>
The same guy developed Trebuchet MS and was also part of the team that
developed Webdings.

Bella Jones

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Jul 11, 2004, 12:06:40 PM7/11/04
to
Sak Wathanasin <s...@network-analysis.ltd.uk> wrote:

[...]

> > than they are in Times New Roman. But
> > there is a real difference, and Palatino feels much better as a result.
>
> Palatino can be a little quirky (esp the capital "P") for setting large
> blocks of text. There is no one right font, of course. I like Alison Black's
> "Typefaces for desktop publishing: a user guide" for a general discussion of
> the issues; it's aimed at the layman rather than people in the trade.

Sadly, out of print and unavailable on Amazon - published 1990, it
says...

Bella Jones

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Jul 11, 2004, 12:06:40 PM7/11/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> In article <1ggqfs6.fi1w5vspac93N%m...@privacy.net>, Bella Jones
> <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

[adobe garamond]

>
> I think there is a Garamond in the Office distro. Not Adobe's version.
> Adobe has two, the Other is Adobe Garamond Pro, which is an Open Type
> Font. OTF is supposed to play really well with Unicode, so I am
> changing all my Word body styles to use Pro so that I am ready for Word
> 2004 once I see how any early teething troubles with it pan out for
> others.

Ah, actually, it was the 'Pro' I found, now I look.

> Word is pretty bloody awful in the typography department. Its H&J is
> really wierd. It arbitrarily changes leading. It gets interword space
> in comments totally screwed, even in TNR. It won't hang punctuation,
> and has a mind of its own when deciding whether to inhibit space before
> on column tops and page tops.

Argh yes! What is it with lines sitting there for a while at the
top/bottom of a page, before bouncing up or down again. Arghh! And odd
spacing even when the right margin isn't justified.



> > >I use Poppl Laudatio variations for heads and

> > Found that in my machine, but it's 'LWFN' and won't open in Font Book.


> It is here too, but it does show up. Maybe you are missing the suitcase
> file for it? (I'm outta my depth here. If it works, its perfect. If it
> doesn't, I bin it)

Me too out of my depth - so all fonts need a suitcase?

Chris Ridd

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Jul 11, 2004, 12:11:27 PM7/11/04
to
On 11/7/04 5:06 pm, in article 1ggrldq.fqm8juiunbpjN%m...@privacy.net, "Bella
Jones" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> Me too out of my depth - so all fonts need a suitcase?

I thought suitcases had gone the way of the dodo?

Cheers,

Chris

Elliott Roper

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Jul 11, 2004, 12:58:08 PM7/11/04
to
In article <BD17253F.2BECA%chri...@mac.com>, Chris Ridd
<chri...@mac.com> wrote:

This might help explain suitcase dodicity.
http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn2024.html
A first reading would indicate 'not quite'

Chris Ridd

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Jul 11, 2004, 2:12:25 PM7/11/04
to
On 11/7/04 5:58 pm, in article 110720041758087964%nos...@yrl.co.uk, "Elliott
Roper" <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> In article <BD17253F.2BECA%chri...@mac.com>, Chris Ridd
> <chri...@mac.com> wrote:
>
>> On 11/7/04 5:06 pm, in article 1ggrldq.fqm8juiunbpjN%m...@privacy.net, "Bella
>> Jones" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Me too out of my depth - so all fonts need a suitcase?
>>
>> I thought suitcases had gone the way of the dodo?
>
> This might help explain suitcase dodicity.
> http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn2024.html
> A first reading would indicate 'not quite'

Indeed, though the note is 3 years old (pre-Jaguar?)

Cheers,

Chris

Peter Ceresole

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Jul 11, 2004, 2:30:04 PM7/11/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> > Any real typographers out there know how Comic Sans was developed?
> > I'd guess that unlike Computer Modern it had some usability research
> > behind it.
>
> The story goes it was developed by a guy called Vincent Connare at
> Microsoft, based on comic book lettering.

That sounds possible... I actually quite like it, again because of its
generous development of loops. The angles and volumes are very clearly
differentiated. Palatino has the same relative virtues, which is why I
prefer it to Times New Roman, which although neat is in fact far too
tight and regular for my taste; in large blocks, you have to work harder
to decipher it.
--
Peter

Peter Ceresole

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Jul 11, 2004, 2:30:05 PM7/11/04
to
Sir Chewbury Gubbins <chewbury...@nelefa.org> wrote:

> > If you don't use Helvetica, what _do_ you use? - It's my font of choice
> > usually.
>
> Damn tootin - it's the One True Font(tm)

In that case you must/would love it in Switzerland. They actually use it
a lot on 'public' street sites. And there, it looks good.
--
Peter

Elliott Roper

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Jul 11, 2004, 2:33:38 PM7/11/04
to
In article <BD174199.2BF02%chri...@mac.com>, Chris Ridd
<chri...@mac.com> wrote:

> On 11/7/04 5:58 pm, in article 110720041758087964%nos...@yrl.co.uk, "Elliott
> Roper" <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > In article <BD17253F.2BECA%chri...@mac.com>, Chris Ridd
> > <chri...@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On 11/7/04 5:06 pm, in article 1ggrldq.fqm8juiunbpjN%m...@privacy.net,
> >> "Bella
> >> Jones" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Me too out of my depth - so all fonts need a suitcase?
> >>
> >> I thought suitcases had gone the way of the dodo?
> >
> > This might help explain suitcase dodicity.
> > http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn2024.html
> > A first reading would indicate 'not quite'
>
> Indeed, though the note is 3 years old (pre-Jaguar?)

oops, I missed the date when googling.

Bella, that article would indicate that you need the ffil to go with
the lfwn files. Gimme an off-list mail, and I'll tell you where to
look.

Luke Bosman

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Jul 11, 2004, 5:15:19 PM7/11/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

Curious. I have been led to believe [1] that sans-serif fonts are easier
to read.

Cheers,
Luke

[1] largely [2] by special needs teachers, who go on courses about this
sort of thing

[2] I say 'largely' because I was also told this by the chap who ran the
'teaching ICT to year 7' course that I attended on Friday.

Luke Bosman

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Jul 11, 2004, 5:15:20 PM7/11/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I'm speaking from the web development point of view and like it or not
> the majority of people view the web through Windows. So if you specify a
> font on a web page you have to be sure the majority of viewers have
> access to it.

...or to a specified alternative.

On my sites, the font lines read something like:

"Gill Sans", "Helvetica", "Arial", sans-serif

I have no idea whether the majority of users have access to Gill Sans.

cheers,
Luke

r@y

unread,
Jul 11, 2004, 5:24:44 PM7/11/04
to
Luke Bosman <southend.united...@spamgourmet.com> wrote:

> r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm speaking from the web development point of view and like it or not
> > the majority of people view the web through Windows. So if you specify a
> > font on a web page you have to be sure the majority of viewers have
> > access to it.
>
> ...or to a specified alternative.

Goes without saying.

Jon B

unread,
Jul 11, 2004, 6:03:05 PM7/11/04
to
SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> > Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> > post this link
> >
> > <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>
>
> Lovely.
>
> <hangs head in shame>
>
> I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> company standard font these days.

<hangs head in shame> which is worse as the OP of this ;)

we did a training CD [1]for people with Learning Disabilities, and Comic
Sans was chosen for the font throughout as it was 'friendly'

[1] Its actually worse, we did it in PP too as it was easiest to do in
house and we could provide a free PP reader :) also as part of this was
for them to do, so it allowed them to customise it to themselves
--
Jon
Remove "usenetspam" from address above to reply

SteveH

unread,
Jul 11, 2004, 6:05:38 PM7/11/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> > I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> > company standard font these days.
>
> <hangs head in shame> which is worse as the OP of this ;)
>
> we did a training CD [1]for people with Learning Disabilities, and Comic
> Sans was chosen for the font throughout as it was 'friendly'
>
> [1] Its actually worse, we did it in PP too as it was easiest to do in
> house and we could provide a free PP reader :) also as part of this was
> for them to do, so it allowed them to customise it to themselves

Ahhh, the most evil of combinations ;-)

Most of my presentations come to me in Comic Sans as .ppt files.

Fortunately, I don't have to edit them with PP, as Keynote happily loads
and saves PP files to use on the presentation machine at work.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 11, 2004, 6:41:07 PM7/11/04
to
Luke Bosman <southend.united...@spamgourmet.com> wrote:

> Curious. I have been led to believe [1] that sans-serif fonts are easier
> to read.

Maybe when reading word by word, but when reading at any speed the
serifs define the strokes on the page and the eye can seize the letters
and combinations more quickly.

My personal experience is certainly that sanserif, although perfectly
okay and clear, makes for relatively tiring and confusing reading on the
page.
--
Peter

Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted

Jon B

unread,
Jul 12, 2004, 4:43:34 AM7/12/04
to
SteveH <st...@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> > > I use it for all my internal memos / presentions as it seems to be the
> > > company standard font these days.
> >
> > <hangs head in shame> which is worse as the OP of this ;)
> >
> > we did a training CD [1]for people with Learning Disabilities, and Comic
> > Sans was chosen for the font throughout as it was 'friendly'
> >
> > [1] Its actually worse, we did it in PP too as it was easiest to do in
> > house and we could provide a free PP reader :) also as part of this was
> > for them to do, so it allowed them to customise it to themselves
>
> Ahhh, the most evil of combinations ;-)
>
> Most of my presentations come to me in Comic Sans as .ppt files.
>
> Fortunately, I don't have to edit them with PP, as Keynote happily loads
> and saves PP files to use on the presentation machine at work.

Yes will this project predates 10.1 as I wan't even runnin osX on the
machine, about 6months later as it went out I just started toe dipping
in X

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 12, 2004, 2:00:47 PM7/12/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> In article <BD174199.2BF02%chri...@mac.com>, Chris Ridd
> <chri...@mac.com> wrote:

[font luggage]

> > >
> > > This might help explain suitcase dodicity.
> > > http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn2024.html
> > > A first reading would indicate 'not quite'
> >
> > Indeed, though the note is 3 years old (pre-Jaguar?)
>
> oops, I missed the date when googling.
>
> Bella, that article would indicate that you need the ffil to go with
> the lfwn files. Gimme an off-list mail, and I'll tell you where to
> look.

The one below works, even tho it's a yahoo. ;-)

Flavio Matani

unread,
Jul 12, 2004, 6:21:21 PM7/12/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

- :D

well, i would have to confess that, since it was the default font for
iCards until they learnt better quite recently, many a postcard was sent
by me using the thing...


--
flavio matani
guitar tuition
homepage.mac.com/flavio_matani/guitar/
www.livejournal.com/users/flavius_m/

r@y

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 4:10:59 AM7/13/04
to
Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

<http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>

"Welcome to the Giga Society web site!

We are the world's most exclusive high IQ society. An IQ of 196 or
higher is required to join"

Written entirely in Comic sans.

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 4:46:13 AM7/13/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> <http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>
>
> "Welcome to the Giga Society web site!
>
> We are the world's most exclusive high IQ society. An IQ of 196 or
> higher is required to join"
>
> Written entirely in Comic sans.

Well at least it might be *funny* up there in their arseholes.
--
Peter

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 4:46:45 AM7/13/04
to
r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Jon B <jon.bradbur...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> > Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> > post this link
> >
> > <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>
>
> <http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>
>
> "Welcome to the Giga Society web site!
>
> We are the world's most exclusive high IQ society. An IQ of 196 or
> higher is required to join"
>
> Written entirely in Comic sans.

Are they for real?

Among the requirements:

"Test for Extrasensory Perception (raw) 3"

NB - not that I don't believe in ESP, it was just odd to see it there.

X Kyle M Thompson

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 5:54:30 AM7/13/04
to
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004, Bella Jones wrote:
>r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> <http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>
>
>Among the requirements:
>
>"Test for Extrasensory Perception (raw) 3"
>
>NB - not that I don't believe in ESP, it was just odd to see it there.

ARGH! Cross-newsgroup thread merge! alt.fan.pratchett has a big
ESP thing at the moment - I guess you must have sensed it :)

kt.
--
So I rang up a local building firm,
I said 'I want a skip outside my house.'
He said 'I'm not stopping you.'


Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 6:38:00 AM7/13/04
to
> Knowing how much this is the favourite font of the group ;) thought I'd
> post this link
>
> <http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdComicsans.jpg>

Well, today I saw a notice printed in Comic Sans in our (quite good)
local library. You can see they use Micro$hit.

It said:

"Any three VHS or DVD's for the price of two."

I spoke to the young woman on the desk. Suppose that children saw it?
And were damaged for life? This was a *library* for God's sake...

She apologised and promised to talk to the person who did the notices.
She'd better; if it doesn't change, I shall make a nuisance of myself.

Nobody speak...
--
Peter

James Dore

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 6:58:16 AM7/13/04
to
In article <1ggv1bo.1lho9si1i7jgvkN%pe...@cara.demon.co.uk>,
pe...@cara.demon.co.uk says...

> She apologised and promised to talk to the person who did the notices.
> She'd better; if it doesn't change, I shall make a nuisance of myself.

No, really -

> Nobody speak...

- oh bugger.

--
James Dore,
IT Officer,
New College
james.dore@new / it-support@new

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 7:15:05 AM7/13/04
to
X Kyle M Thompson <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, 13 Jul 2004, Bella Jones wrote:
> >r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> <http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>
> >
> >Among the requirements:
> >
> >"Test for Extrasensory Perception (raw) 3"
> >
> >NB - not that I don't believe in ESP, it was just odd to see it there.
>
> ARGH! Cross-newsgroup thread merge! alt.fan.pratchett has a big
> ESP thing at the moment - I guess you must have sensed it :)

<unbelievably spooky music>

X Kyle M Thompson

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 7:18:06 AM7/13/04
to
Peter Ceresole wrote:

> "Any three VHS or DVD's for the price of two."

Which is how I was taught a school. DVD is an abbreviation, so
DVD's, CD's, TV's, scone's, sandwich's, etc are all correct,
AFAIK (er, perhaps not that last 2)

Same with numbers : "Monday night is 80's night at Cindies" And
it is too. £10 to get in, and a free bar.

However I have only found sources that back me up and prove me
wrong, so I really do not know.

Go me: http://www.writingenglish.com/apostrophe.htm
No me: http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/wrerrors/wrerrors3.html

I think there was a period where schools changed the way this was
taught, or something.

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 7:44:49 AM7/13/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

!!!

Message has been deleted

PeterD

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 9:07:27 AM7/13/04
to
Bella Jones <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> r@y <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
[...]


> > <http://www.gigasociety.org/gigaweb.htm>
> >
> > "Welcome to the Giga Society web site!
> >
> > We are the world's most exclusive high IQ society. An IQ of 196 or
> > higher is required to join"
> >
> > Written entirely in Comic sans.
>
> Are they for real?

I think he is (Paul Cooijmans, that is) but he also has a very dry sense
of humour. Trouble is it's hard to tell where the serious ends and the
humour begins. It seems that he does have a high IQ, and does spend a
lot of time designing, marking and marketing IQ tests.

The odd thing about having a high IQ is that it really only means you're
very good at IQ tests. It doesn't mean you have any aesthetic
sensibilities, as evidenced by that hideous blue speckly background.
Rather a poor choice for someone who lists "web design" amongst their
interests and web publishing as a vocation.

Still, he does say that someone with an IQ of 130-139 is "usually
capable of adequate social adjustment despite their exceptional
intelligence". Beyond that, of course, the alienation from "normal"
society is too great for seamless integration.

--
Pd

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 9:21:20 AM7/13/04
to
Michael H. Phillips <phil...@ntlworld.ie> wrote:

> On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:15:05 +0100, Bella Jones wrote
> (in article <1ggv2du.z4h0k4s1eq65N%m...@privacy.net>):
>
> > <unbelievably spooky music>
>
> Like this?
>
> http://www.macmusic.org/softs/view.php?id=2287

Superb! :-)

I notice it's not in VersionTracker. Odd...

I pressed a key and suddenly and infinity sign appeared in the
middle...?

PeterD

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 9:22:43 AM7/13/04
to
Michael H. Phillips <phil...@ntlworld.ie> wrote:

> On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:15:05 +0100, Bella Jones wrote
> (in article <1ggv2du.z4h0k4s1eq65N%m...@privacy.net>):
>
> > <unbelievably spooky music>
>
> Like this?
>
> http://www.macmusic.org/softs/view.php?id=2287

Dang - there goes the afternoon.

--
Pd

Richard Kilpatrick

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 10:16:15 AM7/13/04
to
On 13/7/04 12:18 pm, in article 2lhunhF...@uni-berlin.de, "X Kyle M
Thompson" <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Which is how I was taught a school. DVD is an abbreviation, so
> DVD's, CD's, TV's, scone's, sandwich's, etc are all correct,
> AFAIK (er, perhaps not that last 2)

Aren't DVD, TV, CD all contractions rather than abbreviations? They aren't
an acronym (though they are sort of), since they aren't a word - like, say
RAM or ROM. I can't remember the proper term.

And scones is scones, sandwiches, not sandwich's (the sandwich's what,
exactly? Filling? Crust? Dog?).

Not that I'm that great with grammar, you understand, but this is how I
understand the examples given. DVDs is correct as a plural.

For dates, I'm inconsistent myself, but I think that it should be '80s, not
80's. The apostrophe replaces the missing section.

Richard
--
Richard Kilpa...@work.eMac. Apples of various varieties.
Carstuff - Supra and New Beetle, and happy with just two for once.
Music stuff - http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/
Otherstuff: Enterprise 128, Acorns, writing, ZIM!

Trooper

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 10:27:55 AM7/13/04
to
In article <1ggv3w3.13to8qe1wru27gN%pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid>,
pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid says...

> Still, he does say that someone with an IQ of 130-139 is "usually
> capable of adequate social adjustment despite their exceptional
> intelligence". Beyond that, of course, the alienation from "normal"
> society is too great for seamless integration.
>
>

Which is why we all gravitate towards usenet ;)

--
Trooper
use...@SPAMTRAPtrooperlooper.co.uk (remove the obvious)
GamerTag: TrooperNeil
City of Heroes: Ice Trooper, Old Red, Wonderous Kevin on Victory

Andrew Stephenson

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 10:58:27 AM7/13/04
to
In article <1ggv3w3.13to8qe1wru27gN%pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid>
pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid "PeterD" writes:

> The odd thing about having a high IQ is that it really only
> means you're very good at IQ tests. It doesn't mean you have
> any aesthetic sensibilities, as evidenced by that hideous blue
> speckly background. Rather a poor choice for someone who lists
> "web design" amongst their interests and web publishing as a
> vocation.

AOL.

Some truly dim pronouncements have come out of organisations like
Mensa. (Sorry, no details come to mind: examples seemed _so_ dim
as unworthy of mental backup space. [*]) Cubic light-fortnights
sunder "smart", "adroit", "intuitive", "wise", "spatially aware",
"verbally adept", "knowledgeable" and suchlike IQ parameters.

Nature cares about how prolific you and yours are. In real life,
assuming an adequate brain, what counts is a willingness to apply
it. IIRC, "genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration". We see
this in Apple vs IBM vs M$ vs &c for example: weeds can flourish.

So a high IQ is rather like a wonderful design for a tool, which
stays useless if not put to work.

Not that I would care to get bogged down in any discussion of IQ.

[* : Ace get-out, wot?]
--
Andrew Stephenson

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 11:21:04 AM7/13/04
to
X Kyle M Thompson <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > "Any three VHS or DVD's for the price of two."
>
> Which is how I was taught a school.

In which case you were taught hideously wrong. I suspect that, as a
child, your teacher used a local library that had a notice that
mentioned 'Overdue library book's'.

You see how these horrors can echo down the generations?
--
Peter

Dave Gill

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 12:01:03 PM7/13/04
to
X Kyle M Thompson <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I think there was a period where schools changed the way this was
> taught, or something.

The use of the apostrophe in plurals of abbreviations and years is
obsolete in British English, but apparently not in American English.

HTH

"Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss is a good read for any
punctuation pedants out there.

--
The From address is a spam-trap, so all replies to the newsgroup please.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Be Alert, Your Country Needs More Lerts! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yan wong

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 12:23:33 PM7/13/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

: X Kyle M Thompson <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

:> > "Any three VHS or DVD's for the price of two."
:>
:> Which is how I was taught a school.

: In which case you were taught hideously wrong.

Or not.

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/pizza?view=uk

I've posted this link here before, so I'll just back away slowly now.

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 12:50:01 PM7/13/04
to
yan wong <yan....@new.ox.ac.uk> wrote:

> : In which case you were taught hideously wrong.
>
> Or not.

No; definitely wrong in any civilised forum.
--
Peter

PeterD

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 1:51:03 PM7/13/04
to
yan wong <yan....@new.ox.ac.uk> wrote:

Quoting from the page you linked:
"the usual plural of CD is CDs"
so by a very small step of extrapolation,
I'd say the plural of DVD is DVDs.

--
Pd

Andrew Stephenson

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 3:24:02 PM7/13/04
to
In article <1ggvlmj.8y1orz12s6hn9N%pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid>
pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid "PeterD" writes:

> > [links to sites covering pluralisation ortho-/hetero-doxies]


>
> Quoting from the page you linked:
> "the usual plural of CD is CDs"
> so by a very small step of extrapolation,
> I'd say the plural of DVD is DVDs.

DVDa? DVDoi? DVDim?
--
Andrew Stephenson

Simon Stuart

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 4:49:24 PM7/13/04
to
yan wong:

> http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/pizza?view=uk
>
> I've posted this link here before, so I'll just back away slowly now.

[Boggles]

Wow. That's ... that's horrific. Insane. And WRONG.

I've never heard of that before and <wanker> I wrote my undergraduate
dissertation on punctuation, you know </insufferable tosser>.

S

PeterD

unread,
Jul 13, 2004, 5:38:25 PM7/13/04
to
Simon Stuart <simo...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> I've never heard of that before and <wanker> I wrote my undergraduate
> dissertation on punctuation, you know </insufferable tosser>.

Then you should know better than to use unmatched tugtags.

--
Pd

Message has been deleted

yan wong

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 3:59:07 AM7/14/04
to
PeterD <pd....@dsl.pipex.invalid> wrote:
: Quoting from the page you linked:

: "the usual plural of CD is CDs"
: so by a very small step of extrapolation,
: I'd say the plural of DVD is DVDs.

Indeed. I only meant to imply that it wasn't a capital offence to
place an apostrophe there. Merely seen as archaic (Victorian, I think)
or a sometimes approved American style. It /is/ correct editorial style
in the New Yorker, according to "Eats, (roots, [1]) shoots & leaves".

Which got me thinking. How should you pluralize words that,
because they are a contraction, end in an apostrophe? And
how should you make them possessive?

Yan

[1] Shame she didn't use the full version of the joke.

Message has been deleted

Simon Stuart

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 4:09:42 AM7/14/04
to
PeterD:

<Flicks Vs wildly> OK </Flicks Vs wildly>

S

Simon Stuart

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 4:10:27 AM7/14/04
to
PeterD:

Actually, on a related note: if only I'd known about emoticons and the like
... that'd have been a whole glorious chapter in itself.

S

Message has been deleted

Chris Ridd

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:16:52 AM7/14/04
to
On 14/7/04 9:23 am, in article cd2qib$hq3$1...@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk, "Richard
P. Grant" <rp...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:

> Hmmm. That doesn't look valid to me. You probably want a

The opening tag is OK for SGML, as there's a way to treat valueless
attributes. It becomes: <Flicks Vs="Vs" wildly="wildly">

Not sure about the end tag :-)

Cheers,

Chris

Adrian Tuddenham

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 6:12:22 AM7/14/04
to
Richard P. Grant <rp...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:


> I'm having difficulty thinking of a noun that ends in an apostrophe
> because it's a contraction. I can think of plenty that end in a full
> stop, on the other hand.

I think the superscript-underline is a very clear way of indicating an
abbreviation at the end of the word, but it is much less widely used
nowadays than it was a couple of generations ago. (Probably because it
causes the printers too much hassle)

There are several words that indicate an abbreviation by *beginning*
with an apostrophe, but it is included so rarely that most people don't
realise it ought to be there:

'phone, 'bus.....

--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Change 'offline' to 'online' to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

Jim

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 6:11:34 AM7/14/04
to
In article <1ggwuj6.11k74swk997j8N%popp...@ukOFFline.co.uk>, Adrian Tuddenham wrote:
> Richard P. Grant <rp...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>> I'm having difficulty thinking of a noun that ends in an apostrophe
>> because it's a contraction. I can think of plenty that end in a full
>> stop, on the other hand.
>
> I think the superscript-underline is a very clear way of indicating an
> abbreviation at the end of the word, but it is much less widely used
> nowadays than it was a couple of generations ago. (Probably because it
> causes the printers too much hassle)
>
> There are several words that indicate an abbreviation by *beginning*
> with an apostrophe, but it is included so rarely that most people don't
> realise it ought to be there:
>
> 'phone, 'bus.....
>

'hole...

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk
"Brace yourself, this might make your eyes water."

PeterD

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 8:18:18 AM7/14/04
to
Jim <j...@odin.magrathea.local> wrote:

> Adrian Tuddenham wrote:

> > There are several words that indicate an abbreviation by *beginning*
> > with an apostrophe, but it is included so rarely that most people don't
> > realise it ought to be there:
> >
> > 'phone, 'bus.....

Ought? Maybe fifty years ago it ought, but is there anyone still alive
who thinks "bus" is short for "omnibus"? Apart from that chap from
Clapham, of course.

I read something funny t'other day. May not be true of course. It said
"the laughter tracks used on comedy programmes were recorded in the
fifties - most of those people are dead now." Hee hee - zombie chuckles.

> 'hole...

Ee Jim, thou art a cheeky bogger.


--
Pd

PeterD

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 8:21:24 AM7/14/04
to
Simon Stuart <simo...@btinternet.com> wrote:

And of course thrs txt pnk2azn / lak ov.

--
Pd

PeterD

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 8:22:49 AM7/14/04
to
Simon Stuart <simo...@btinternet.com> wrote:

Ah, merci beaucoup.

Monsieur Delours.

X Kyle M Thompson

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 8:45:52 AM7/14/04
to
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004, Richard Kilpatrick wrote:

>On 13/7/04 12:18 pm, in article 2lhunhF...@uni-berlin.de, "X Kyle M
>Thompson" <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Which is how I was taught a school. DVD is an abbreviation, so
>> DVD's, CD's, TV's, scone's, sandwich's, etc are all correct,
>> AFAIK (er, perhaps not that last 2)
>

>Scones is scones, sandwiches, not sandwich's (the sandwich's what,
>exactly? Filling? Crust? Dog?).

I know, I was being silly. Sorry.

--
So I rang up a local building firm,
I said 'I want a skip outside my house.'
He said 'I'm not stopping you.'


Richard Kilpatrick

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 11:29:01 AM7/14/04
to
On 14/7/04 1:45 pm, in article
Pine.CYG.4.58.04...@kyle.trt.lan, "X Kyle M Thompson"
<kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> Scones is scones, sandwiches, not sandwich's (the sandwich's what,
>> exactly? Filling? Crust? Dog?).
>
> I know, I was being silly. Sorry.

We'll have none of that here. This is a serious newsgroup for the discussion
of issues pertaining to the use of Apple Macintosh computers in the UK.

Anyhoo, about my sammich...

Luke Bosman

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 2:44:13 PM7/14/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> X Kyle M Thompson <kyle.t...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > "Any three VHS or DVD's for the price of two."
> >
> > Which is how I was taught a school.
>
> In which case you were taught hideously wrong

-ly.

Luke

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 3:23:08 PM7/14/04
to
Luke Bosman <southend.united...@spamgourmet.com> wrote:

> > > Which is how I was taught a school.
> >
> > In which case you were taught hideously wrong
>
> -ly.

Only if you're talking to the Queen.
--
Peter

Gwynne Harper

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 3:24:16 PM7/14/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> I don't know anyone who uses a PC that cares about typography;
> they are all past help

Now there's a quote that sums up the froup. May it live on in a thousand
sigmonsters


Gwynne
--
My real email is net, not line.

Gwynne Harper

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 3:24:17 PM7/14/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> Times New Roman, which although neat is in fact far too
> tight and regular for my taste; in large blocks, you have to work harder
> to decipher it.

Would it suprise you to know TNR is the compulsory font for MOD/civil
service [*] writing? Sans serif allowed in tables only, and then only
grudgingly. We are the last bastion of double spaces after full stops,
for goodness' sake.


Gwynne
1 Those that are still in regular work after Mr Brown has finished.

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 3:47:30 PM7/14/04
to
Gwynne Harper <g.ha...@gmx.line> wrote:

> Would it suprise you to know TNR is the compulsory font for MOD/civil
> service [*] writing?

It doesn't surpise me one tiny bit. Hansard's in TNR as well, isn't it?

> Sans serif allowed in tables only, and then only grudgingly.

They'll have been reading the same NATO legibility studies then...

There was a great study of aircraft instrument fonts for best
legibility. Amazing how fancy some of the clearest types were- numbers
with tails on and so forth. For reading under maximum stress. Actually
rather like the '9' in the Classic icon. D'you suppose the Stevoid is
trying to tell us something?
--
Peter

Message has been deleted

Bella Jones

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 4:40:02 PM7/14/04
to
Gwynne Harper <g.ha...@gmx.line> wrote:

> Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > Times New Roman, which although neat is in fact far too
> > tight and regular for my taste; in large blocks, you have to work harder
> > to decipher it.
>
> Would it suprise you to know TNR is the compulsory font for MOD/civil
> service [*] writing? Sans serif allowed in tables only, and then only
> grudgingly. We are the last bastion of double spaces after full stops,
> for goodness' sake.

I notice those double spaces quite a lot. Don't see the point of them
really.


--
bellajonez at yahoo dot co dot uk

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:02:59 PM7/14/04
to
Bella Jones <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> I notice those double spaces quite a lot. Don't see the point of them
> really.

Neither do I but it was standard typing practice since the Ark.
--
Peter

Luke Bosman

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:08:02 PM7/14/04
to
Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

Certainly not. In this case, an adverb is required. :-)

Luke

Elliott Roper

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:08:08 PM7/14/04
to
In article <1ggxkz6.1xqbsku1pr22ktN%m...@privacy.net>, Bella Jones
<m...@privacy.net> wrote:

It makes a bit of sense with monospaced fonts like Miss Moneypenny may
have used on her Underwood typewriter. The sentence boundaries would be
easier to spot. With a proper typesetting algorithm and proprtional
fonts, two spaces are not needed. The setting can add just a little
more end of sentence space if it wishes. The interword space is varied
if the text is justified. Under those circumstances two spaces is too
unpredictable. Finally, with proportional fonts the 'weight' of the
page is denser, and the extra white at the end of a sentence sticks out
like dog's balls.
I'd say it was part of the public school system. Those posh public
servants are re-living their schoolday fantasies of waiting for a
beating outside the headmaster's office under the stern gaze of the
school secretary. Discipline.

--
I thought I would be the last on earth to mangle my e-mail address.
fsnospam$elliott$$

Steve Hodgson

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:25:44 PM7/14/04
to
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:24:17 +0300, g.ha...@gmx.line (Gwynne Harper)
wrote:

>Peter Ceresole <pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Times New Roman, which although neat is in fact far too
>> tight and regular for my taste; in large blocks, you have to work harder
>> to decipher it.
>
>Would it suprise you to know TNR is the compulsory font for MOD/civil
>service [*] writing? Sans serif allowed in tables only, and then only
>grudgingly. We are the last bastion of double spaces after full stops,
>for goodness' sake.

That sounds awfully like the 'manual of defence writing' (can't
remember the exact title). Bits of it are extremely useful (us eof
language) but there are a lot of proscriptive rules in there.

We had a similar reminder at our place that all letters, memos etc
were to be in TNR 12 point etc. It was amusing to turn on the
invisible characters in the Word document and see just how little the
writer knew about using WP applications. New paragraphs created by
hitting return twice, indents with muliple spaces etc. etc.

Cheers,

Steve
--
My Usenet email address is a spam trap
To email - use steve 'at' shodgson 'dot' org 'dot' uk

Peter Ceresole

unread,
Jul 14, 2004, 5:41:28 PM7/14/04
to
Elliott Roper <nos...@yrl.co.uk> wrote:

> I'd say it was part of the public school system. Those posh public
> servants are re-living their schoolday fantasies of waiting for a
> beating outside the headmaster's office under the stern gaze of the
> school secretary. Discipline.

Actually that rings *exactly* true. Anne's PA for the last seven years
before she retired was a friend of mine- who herself retired from the
Beeb at the same time as I did, when we both turned 53. Thatcher's
children. Anyway, she had been beautifully trained as a Beeb programme
PA, a woman of formidable beauty, elegance, intelligence, initiative and
effectiveness. Like all the Beeb PAs of that generation, a chip off the
Empire. And she *always* put two spaces after full stops.

She and Anne became best friends- still are; Anne is *so* Swiss and
Sonja is *so* wonderfully Brit that it's sheer pleasure to see them
together. Anne uses Palatino in Word on her Tonka; it's proportional and
I've been able to persuade her to single space after full stops but
she'd been watching Sonja and it was an uphill struggle.
--
Peter

bogus address

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Jul 14, 2004, 7:46:26 PM7/14/04
to

>> Which got me thinking. How should you pluralize words that,
>> because they are a contraction, end in an apostrophe? And
>> how should you make them possessive?
> Don't. Use the full word.

> I'm having difficulty thinking of a noun that ends in an apostrophe
> because it's a contraction.

There is something like this in Scots where fa (fall) and ba (ball)
are often spelt fa' and ba' on the mistaken assumption that they're
contractions of the equivalent English words rather than cognates
of them. The plurals when using that convention are fa's, ba's; the
more modern orthography is faas, baas.

========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music.

Chris Ridd

unread,
Jul 15, 2004, 3:21:37 AM7/15/04
to
On 14/7/04 10:02 pm, in article
1ggxox6.nu5d0n17jy91nN%pe...@cara.demon.co.uk, "Peter Ceresole"
<pe...@cara.demon.co.uk> wrote:

It was something to do with everything being mono-spaced, but I can't be
bothered to look up exactly why. It is as obsolete as the underline :-)

Cheers,

Chris

Message has been deleted

Thom White

unread,
Jul 15, 2004, 4:49:32 AM7/15/04
to
Bella Jones wrote:

>>Would it suprise you to know TNR is the compulsory font for MOD/civil
>>service [*] writing? Sans serif allowed in tables only, and then only
>>grudgingly. We are the last bastion of double spaces after full stops,
>>for goodness' sake.
>
> I notice those double spaces quite a lot. Don't see the point of them
> really.

They are awful - I spend half my working life removing them. Oh, and
half my non-working life noticing them in poorly checked printed material.

Thom

Woody

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Jul 15, 2004, 4:56:30 AM7/15/04
to

Surely it doesn't take that long to do a find ' ' replace ' ' ?

--
Woody
Alienrat Design Ltd
www.alienrat.com


Thom White

unread,
Jul 15, 2004, 5:34:06 AM7/15/04
to
Woody wrote:

>>>I notice those double spaces quite a lot. Don't see the point of them
>>>really.
>>
>>They are awful - I spend half my working life removing them. Oh, and
>>half my non-working life noticing them in poorly checked printed
>>material.
>
>
> Surely it doesn't take that long to do a find ' ' replace ' ' ?

I do it as part of preparing copy, so I tend to do it by hand while I'm
sorting everything else out (hyphens/dashes, single/double quotes etc).


Thom

Adrian Tuddenham

unread,
Jul 15, 2004, 5:36:11 AM7/15/04
to
Bella Jones <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

I've been told by a friend who has studied the history of printing that
printers used to be paid by the character. If they put in double
spaces, they got paid more.

Just after WWII, that method of payment was changed and single-spacing
suddenly became the norm. If you look at a selection of books from 1939
to 1953 you will see the change.

I habitually double-space after a full stop because I find it helps the
readability, but recently I was resoundingly ticked-off by a printer
when I submitted some double-spaced material for publication. He
insisted on it all being single-spaced before he would print it. I had
to agree with him that (in that particular instance) it looked overdone
because the auto-justification had elongated the spaces by a ridiculous
amount.

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