Effective Communications Via Email Or Public Forums

[petef]

Everyone,

I wrote the article at the link below but there is one part that I'd like

to get your opinion on. If you've been reading my posts, you may have

noticed that I format my text to about 65 chars wide as opposed to

allowing the text to be automatically formatted to the width of your

window. What I'd like to know from you is whether you find that

beneficial, or annoying and the reason why.

 

Here's why I do it...

FORMAT YOUR MESSAGE FOR BETTER READING COMPREHENSION

HTH-FreeInfo_

 

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS VIA EMAIL OR PUBLIC FORUMS (full article)

HTH-FreeInfo_

 

Feedback on the entire article would be most welcome and appreciated too.

 

---pete---

[help4me]

Hey Pete... great article as a whole. Well thought out and neatly organized.

 

My only thought for posts in a forum is that with the small line length, it makes for a longer length post (top to bottom) which leaves more for a reader to scroll through. Especially if the reader wants to go back to another post.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

I have to agree with Bonnie but the main thing that irritates me is the use of the Comic Sans font.

 

To me this infers that the reader is child like and would have difficulty in reading a script in any other font.

 

To me, Line spacing, correct grammar and punctuation are essential.

[petef]

I have to agree with Bonnie but the main thing that irritates me is the use of the Comic Sans font.

 

To me this infers that the reader is child like and would have difficulty in reading a script in any other font.

 

Thanks for the feedback. It never occured to me that the Comic Sans font

had such a negative stigma associated with it but I just performed some

quick research on the topic and apparently it does. I found many instances

of people knocking it but hardly any of them explain why they don't like

it. I had chosen the Comic Sans font because it's very easy on the eyes

and I can read it well even without my reading glasses. I'll definitely look

into this further.

 

What would be a better font to use that is as very easy

on the eyes and good for enhancing reading comprehension?

 

---pete---

[petef]

Hey Pete... great article as a whole. Well thought out and neatly organized.

 

My only thought for posts in a forum is that with the small line length, it makes for a longer length post (top to bottom) which leaves more for a reader to scroll through. Especially if the reader wants to go back to another post.

 

Ok, so I guess I need to weigh the factors of reading comprehension

versus efficiency in scrolling. Your comments are much appreciated. :)

 

---pete---

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Why not just use the good old MS Sans Seriff Pete, very easy on the eye and a widely used font.

[petef]

Ok Everyone I need some opinions here.

Which font style (upper sample or lower sample) seems easier

on the eyes and would enhance reading comprehension?

 

http://www.htworkshop.com/public/comic_sans_vs_san_serif.jpg

[Goku]

Everyone,

I wrote the article at the link below but there is one part that I'd like

to get your opinion on. If you've been reading my posts, you may have

noticed that I format my text to about 65 chars wide as opposed to

allowing the text to be automatically formatted to the width of your

window. What I'd like to know from you is whether you find that

beneficial, or annoying and the reason why.

 

Here's why I do it...

FORMAT YOUR MESSAGE FOR BETTER READING COMPREHENSION

HTH-FreeInfo_

 

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS VIA EMAIL OR PUBLIC FORUMS (full article)

HTH-FreeInfo_

 

Feedback on the entire article would be most welcome and appreciated too.

 

---pete---

Pete, if you wrote out the article all by yourself, then you are a very good writer. :)

 

I like your posts as they are very informative but your writing style is a little different and therefore is a little hard to get used to. When you put an end after 60 characters, I have to concentrate on the next line rather than what my eyes are used to. I lose my concentration in reading as I have to strain on the next line while retaining the information in the first line. After a while, we do get used to it but still it is somewhat of an annoyance. On the other hand, the paragraph tip is very useful and I use it very much, ever since I first learned English.

 

For the font type, I normally use Times New Roman or MS Sans. I sometimes use Arial depending on the format of the text but Times New Roman is my preferred type. I don't know what font I am using here but I like the Forum default very much. :)

 

As for the above example, the lower sample is definitely more easy on the eyes.

 

Just my opinions on your different queries. :)

 

-- Goku

Edited June 20, 2008 by Goku

[Guest Wolfeymole]

The font below is in MS sans seriff at 4 point Pete, how does it look to you?

 

 

TIP: When replying using quoted text, avoid what's called

over-quoting or excessive quoting. Most times it serves no

real purpose to quote the entire message you are replying to.

A better approach is to quote a small portion of the original

text, just enough to remind the reader what you are replying

to.

[petef]

The font below is in MS sans seriff at 4 point Pete, how does it look to you?

 

 

TIP: When replying using quoted text, avoid what's called

over-quoting or excessive quoting. Most times it serves no

real purpose to quote the entire message you are replying to.

A better approach is to quote a small portion of the original

text, just enough to remind the reader what you are replying

to.

 

Yes, that looks fine.

The sample above is slanted slightly so it must be italicized.

 

I still don't see that what all comotion is over Comic Sans font becasue

I still find it easy on the eyes so I guess it boils down to personal preference.

Judging by the lack of responses here I'd say it's not that big an issue.

I could live with either one, Comic San or MS Sans Serif.

 

Thanks for bringing the Comic Sans issue to my attention.

 

Videos on this Comic Sans issue...

 

 

 

---pete---

[Guest Wolfeymole]

The sample above is slanted slightly so it must be italicized.

Actually it's not Pete but because for some obscure reason all statements quoted via the "reply with quote" are deemed to be italics by the forum software.

 

However at the end of the day we all have our own style of writing so I'll apologise to you if you thought I was pulling you down in any way.

 

Wolfey

[help4me]

Thanks for the feedback. It never occured to me that the Comic Sans font

had such a negative stigma associated with it but I just performed some

quick research on the topic and apparently it does. I found many instances

of people knocking it but hardly any of them explain why they don't like

it. I had chosen the Comic Sans font because it's very easy on the eyes

and I can read it well even without my reading glasses. I'll definitely look

into this further.

 

What would be a better font to use that is as very easy

on the eyes and good for enhancing reading comprehension?

 

---pete---

 

I found this:

 

Comic Sans Serif was launched with Internet Explorer verion 3 and mimics the hand writing used in comics. It is easy to read and is informal and friendly, but it is not considered appropriate for more serious, professional sites.

 

read more here about fonts.

[help4me]

I also found this study on line length

 

This study examined the effects of line length on reading performance. Reading rates were found to be fastest at 95 cpl. Readers reported either liking or disliking the extreme line lengths (35 cpl, 95 cpl). Those that liked the 35 cpl indicated that the short line length facilitated "faster" reading and was easier because it required less eye movement. Those that liked the 95 cpl stated that they liked having more information on a page at one time. Although some participants reported that they felt like they were reading faster at 35 cpl, this condition actually resulted in the slowest reading speed.

 

I think that's why I like a larger line length. I read fairly fast... and short line length requires me to scroll a lot which gets annoying, because as the page moves... I sometimes lose my place and have to look for it.

 

Also... I don't like a lot of wasted space on a web page. Shorter line length is ok if there is a reason for it. (ex: navigation bars... relevant images, etc.)

 

But again... as far as content goes... your articles are excellent Pete.

Edited June 20, 2008 by help4me

[petef]

However at the end of the day we all have our own style of writing so I'll apologise to you if you thought I was pulling you down in any way.

 

No problemo Wolfey :)

I welcome critiques and am thankful that you brought to my

attention all the fuss over the Comic Sans font. I had no

idea there existed a hated font. Hehehe. It's kind of

funny, there are so many web pages dedicated to the

I Hate Comic Sans issue. Most seem to be humorous

in nature.

 

So even though I personaly like the Comic Sans it might be wise

to change it to one that is not controversial if I'd like to increase

my chances at success.

 

Hey, no pain, no gain. ;)

Thanks, I appreciate the critque!

 

---pete---

[petef]

I found this:

read more here about fonts.

 

Thanks, great article! It's a keeper.

I'm still undecided about which is the best font to use for the FREE INFO

section of my website, but the more I think about it and research this topic

I think it boils down to using Verdana or Comic Sans MS due to how easy

on eyes those fonts are. The final test and decision is going to be by my

customers. I'm going to print out an article from my website in the three

font types shown below. I'll quickly show them the 3 printouts let them

choose which one to keep for them self after I leave on my service call.

 

I think I had originally chosen the Comic Sans MS font becasue it's

very easy on the eyes and also due to the casual feeling it promotes.

The idea is that my customers get uptight when dealing with technical

issues and I wanted them to be more relaxed when reading the technical

articles I had posted on my website.

 

http://www.htworkshop.com/public/comic_sans_vs_san_serif_vs_verdana.jpg

 

 

---pete---

[petef]

I also found this study on line length

 

Wow, another great article! Thanks!

 

Excerpt...

Research investigating line length for online text has been inconclusive. Several studies found that longer line lengths (80 – 100 cpl) were read faster than short line lengths (Duchnicky and Kolers, 1983; Dyson and Kipping, 1998). Contrary to these findings, other research suggests the use of shorter line lengths. Dyson and Haselgrove (2001) found that 55 characters per line were read faster than either 100 cpl or 25 cpl conditions. Similarly, a line length of 45-60 characters was recommended by Grabinger and Osman-Jouchoux (1996) based on user preferences. Bernard, Fernandez, Hull, and Chaparro (2003) found that adults preferred medium line length (76 cpl) and children preferred shorter line lengths (45 cpl) when compared to 132 characters per line.

 

help4me,

The excerpt above is what I found most interesting. There seem NOT to be

any definitive answer on the best line length to use, but I think we can use

these facts to draw some conclusions if we apply our personal experience

and common sense to determine which study to believe when there are

conflicting results as in the excerpt above.

 

It makes sense to me that long line lenghts enhance the reading speed

becasue of the slight delay involved with moving from one line to the next

and the fewer number of times you have to scroll downwards.

 

The studies above seem to indicate that going too long or too short

can have negative effects and that there is probably a happy medium

somewhere in between (55 to 76 cpl) which makes sense to me becasue

I know from my own experience that I experience problems with both

reading speed and comprehension on very long line lengths.

 

In addition to my own experience, one of my customers received advise

from her doctor (treated for dislexia or ADD, i can't recall which) indicating

that shorter line lengths would enhance her reading comprehension. This

theory seems to be supported by the study above which indicates that

small children prefer shorter line lengths. All this suggests that people

who are less skilled at reading require shorter line lengths to maximize

reading comprehension.

 

On the other hand, people who are very skilled and focused at reading

have no problems handling the longer line lengths, read more efficiently

and actually prefer them. People in this category made up about 30%

of the people involved in the studies but I'd venture to say they would

be in an even smaller minority for the people I'm targetting my articles

to at my website, but for the people commonly found at tech support

Forums such as FPH Forums, the number of skilled readers is probably

much higher and this is why longer line lenghts would be more

appropriate for this forum.

 

Ok with all that in mind, it says to me that depending upon who your

target audiance is, it's best to choose a line length that is most

appropriate. For example, general posts aimed at the regular and

frequent members who are typically more experienced and skilled at

reading text in the Forum format would be best suited to read long

line lengths.

 

However, if making a post aimed at people less experienced or skilled at

reading and where you desire to maximize reading comprehension to the

majority, then the shorter line length would be more suitable.

 

This is a very interesting topic.

Thanks for finding that article!

 

PS: This leaves me wishing for a new feature in the vBullitin

editor that would offer to reformat my post upon submission

to a specific CPL value. I would choose 75 CPL for this

partuicular post. :)

 

---pete---

[Seth]

I didn't know that about Comic Sans. Thanks.

 

Excellent work Pete and great feedback from the members.

[help4me]

Pete... about reading difficulties, specifically dyslexia, black print on white paper is very hard on the eyes. For a print out.... you may want to include a choice of different colored paper. One of the parents of my preschooler's had such an issue, so anytime I could, I printed out papers for her on pastel yellow or blue paper, including papers she had to sign. Also.... pastel colors may also promote that casual feeling.

 

Blue

 

Ask people their favorite color and a clear majority will say blue. Much of the world is blue (skies, seas). Seeing the color blue actually causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming; but that isn't true of all shades of blue. Some shades (or too much blue) can send a cold and uncaring message. Many bedrooms are blue because it's calm, restful color. Over the ages blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability, and loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue). People tend to be more productive in a blue room because they are calm and focused on the task at hand. Some studies are showing that weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym - in fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue surroundings.

 

More here

 

and another geared toward web design

[petef]

Pete... about reading difficulties, specifically dyslexia, black print on white paper is very hard on the eyes.

 

Wow, I never realized that. I know that I have a hard time reading websites

with just about any color text on a black background. It seems that young

people gravitate towards that color scheme.

 

On colors, I use blue in various ways to promote my business.

That's on purpose. Every little bit counts. ;)

 

---pete---

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Just a bit more blue