font-size, scaling factor

Todd Fahrner wrote on 30 Nov 1997 13:36:19 -0700:

> The sample stylesheet in the CSS2 draft has 1em on BODY, but this is
> really just an awkward way of saying "I get my real value elsewhere".
> The "Base Stylesheet"[1], whence the sample was derived, has a
> commented-out section in which the value on BODY is 12pt, and the
> background, text and link colors express the Mosaic defaults. I move
> that this section be uncommented and put in the sample sheet, with
> "font size" weighted !important. UAs must provide a means of
> overwriting these values, as they do now in some more mysterious
> system. The base/sample sheet is not meant to be a style model for
> author sheets, but for users and their agents.
>
> [1] http://www.verso.com/agitprop/corestyle/base.html

I second Mr./Dr. Fahrner's motion to choose 12pt for BODY. Is
that the right thing to do? The only correction I found needed in
the Base Stylesheet is {font-family: Times, "Times New Roman"}, to
maintain the default font in Mac IE and NN.

My initial tests looked at a small part of the picture from
Macintoshes, and can make no conclusions except probably to not
set font-size [1]. I will try to be available to do more tests,
and can send a few real-world examples now if examples will help.

A new motion, re: CSS1 and CSS2 font-size:

  "..On a computer screen a scaling factor of 1.5 is
     suggested between adjacent indexes; if the 'medium'
     font is 10pt, the 'large' font could be 15pt." [2]

I move that the on-screen font scaling factor be changed from 1.5
to 1.2, and that the example size for 'medium' change from 10pt to
12pt.

I trust this is compatible with a 12pt sample/base style sheet, and
will help make text legible at 'medium' and 'small'; I am not sure,
even with these adjustments, that 'xx-small' can be used.

Corrections and comments are welcome.

[1] http://www.macvirus.com/test/font/
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-CSS2/fonts.html#h-14.2.4

Susan Lesch

Received on Monday, 8 December 1997 01:21:15 UTC