Dear All, Recently I've noticed the tendency for some members to go the path of the dragon by enlarging their fonts to ridiculous sizes that practically screams into the screen. What's more, some of it are brightly coloured making them look like outright posters. Andy Warhol would've been proud. Also, some decided that it's funny to test the eyesight of the masses by changing fonts with lots of serifs or reducing them in size and width, making BC an ophthalmologist's haven, providing constant eye tests. Andy Warhol would've nodded in agreement. Then there are the Flower Power Militants who choose to colour their fonts as much as possible, making them stand out from the many responses on the thread. Andy Warhol would've smiled in amusement. And last but not least - the Dragon-Ophthalmology-Flower genetics research team whose undivided dedication to combine the three of the above into new mixes of many shapes and colours. Who needs acid for an acid trip? Don't know what Andy would've said about genetics. Anyway, the reasons for the above might have some basis in the human behaviour as social creatures; we all need attention to exist - from the day you came out of your mother's womb to the day bacteria turn you into ash. Without attention, we don't exist merely because we don't belong. Research has shown that being acknowledged and responded to accordingly plays an important role in the well being of a person, fulfilling the needs of interaction between the species. Married men lived longer than unmarried ones, whilst women with plenty of friends are less likely to end up depressed in life unless your name is Britney Spears. The 'path of the dragon' is our inner self shouting out to drown the rest of the crowd, asking to be acknowledged and be known from the sea of people. Normal it is for us to shout for help in times of distress or jubilation but rarely during discussions, with the exception of when the person or the person's arguments or both, are not taken seriously. The ophthalmologist's friend is not very different from the 'dragon' as the change in font size is also a way of trying to grab the attention of the masses. In the Austin Powers movies, the character Mini-Me was the miniature version of Dr Evil whom many people actually liked because he was different. He was small. Around the likes of Mike Myers, Mike Myers, Beyoncé, Liz Hurley, Fat *beep*, Michael Caine and Mike Myers, the character played by the similarly sized Verne Troyer stood out. Less is more (I'll not make the joke about when it isn't). Then comes the Flower Power Militants. I blame Hanna Barbera for Care Bears and My Little Pony. End of. I was kidding of course, it's just not me, wilfredlgf, not to overanalyse and put people to sleep, heya? Anyway, the rampant colourness of reponses is again, not any different from their two comrades above. Standing out is an important thing - as Donald Trump said, "If you don't sell yourself, nobody will". Or "If you're gonna sparkle darling, might as well sparkle brightly baby!". The genetics researchers need no introduction - they're the 'mode' types, dressed in purple coloured velvet laboratory coats and large oversized diamond encrusted glasses. All this brings great diversity to the place that is Badminton Central, imposing their individual taste and looks into their posts, making it a unique place to hang out with every person behind the username, different. All good and sundry, yes? Possibly not. The lack of uniformity in font sizes and types can and usually does cause the eyes to squint. Imagine reading a size '2' 'Arial' all the way down and suddenly have them shrunk into the size of gnats, then back to Arial 2 again. Similarly, imagine the same but replace the gnat with a big walrus, all with its tusks poking into your eyes. This is not a newspaper, for chrissake. Everybody will spend time reading on this forum and looking at attached photos, from top to bottom, hence users can be assured that their posts will be read at least once, so you won't get missed out, if you word it properly. So what if you do have a point to make and want everybody to hear it? Well, sharpen your writing skills a little and think before you write, but the most important bit of it all is to re-read what you've written before clicking on the submit reply button. Reorganise your points with better clarity, use more imposing words rather than imposing sizes. Then re-read what you've written again. People will agree better if you put your points ahead properly. People will also agree better if you have the reputation of putting in sound arguments. People will also agree more if you have don't force them to. Don't blame anybody if you use txtspk though. I almost automatically ignore that foreign language without a thought. "Hey, those underlined, bold and italics are for grabbing the reader's attention, or else why are they there?!". Sure, why not? But the normal usage of bolds, underlines and italics are for long texts, most especially when the writer was referring to a specific line or quote without asking the reader to peruse the whole thing. Other uses may include species naming, section headers, quotes and URL markers. Take a book and have a look at the writings - long texts aren't filled with markings and different typography because it is annoying and hard on the eyes. BC is filled with text! Conclusion: 1. You don't have to shout. 2. You are just a regular member like everybody else, unless you have a 'moderator' tag under your name in which incense offerings are burnt in your name weekly. 3. Lin Dan or Xie XingFang can't hear you from the court, regardless of the size and colour of your font. 4. You don't sound any smarter in full colours. 5. BC members are not optically challenged. 6. Fonts are specially created to help readability. Don't waste the hard work of the researchers and artists. 6. Erika Sawajiri is quite a woman. --- I am no Mao-style militant for uniformity; I'm wearing a yellow tee-shirt at the moment with the picture of a puppy doing handstands as of this moment. I am calling for simplicity and essence in opposed to loudness and overstatement. Yeah!
You need to put that in BOLD, my friend. Besides that, I second Wilfred's opinion. Guys, please rein in your creative urge to individualize your posts. People read you just fine when you type normally. If it gets crazy enough, no one will take you seriously. Please consider your potential readers' comfort when you convey your message.
You were there when Hendrix played Star Spangled Banner with his electric guitar and I claim my RM 50.
