Works fine here [LWN.net]

Works fine here

Posted Jan 12, 2008 9:26 UTC (Sat) by jbw (guest, #5689)
In reply to: Works fine here by khim
Parent article: LWN.net: a ten-year timeline (part 1)

I think you're missing the point.  The text should always automatically adjust to the font
size and available width.  A column of text should never be wider than the screen, because
then you have to scroll back and forth horizontally to read each line.  (I personally don't
mind if the overall layout is larger than the screen as long as the text column fits within
the screen width.)  Some people with poor vision do not have the option of using a smaller
font, so it is also an accessibility issue.

Joe

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It's NOT an accessibility issue

Posted Jan 12, 2008 20:10 UTC (Sat) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

LWN looks just fine here with 300% magnification on 800x600 - with "Fit-to-Width" option in Opera, of course. The problem is typical: to optimize for vast majority (normal people with normal screens) or to optimize for fringe case. IMNSHO the former is a must, the latter is optional - especially when users of said fringe cases have a working alternative (here it's "Fir-to-Width" option in Opera).

What is easier: to fix layout on thousands (or even millions) of sites or to fix one browser ? It can be done (as Opera shows) so the answer is obvious: if people care enough about such fringe cases then they can take Mozilla (or WebKit) sources and implement "Fit-to-Width" option, if not - they can at least stop complaining.