A lot of times I'll select some text on a page right before I scroll to help my eye focus and track where I am on large text pages.
Poll: Do you select text while reading?
161–170 of 366 posts
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#162I don't do it habitually, but it's invaluable for all those web pages where the author thought blinking yellow text on a magenta background was neat...
[Not just myspace and old geocities sites...I run into this sort of thing all too often, even on "real" (modern, corporate, well-funded, etc) websites. Sometimes it's just that the site designer seemed to be going for some sort of artistic/funky look, but in other cases the site looks fine in ie6 but becomes unreadable in FF or chrome... >< ]
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#163When people see that I highlight text while I'm reading, they always want to know what practical reason it serves. The simplest answer is that it kind of helps me track the text, but it's less than that. It also isn't quite just a nervous habit. The only description that makes sense to me is that it feels like a physical connection to the page. More like spinning a pen, or rolling an object in your hand while you thi…
This is exactly why I do it.
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#164Yes, and I thought about posting about this a here lot of times to know if people also do this because of how much I hate websites that remap the arrows to "next/previous article", it must stop!
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#165Does anyone else want to answer "Yes" for all of those reasons?
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also hate when clicking in "empty" space takes me to an advertiser's site.
Oh my god, yes! I am a compulsive margin-clicker. I ostensibly do this to make sure that the browser page has focus, but really it's really just a tick. I love TheOnion.com, but they kill me with their ads-in-the-margins. What I typically do is fire up Chrome developer tools, and DESTROY the offending node. I find this therapeutic. :)
There was a blow-up-the-page book market posted to HNa while back... you might find some pleasure in tthat if someone can dig it up.
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#167Tracking the reading position with a visual guide is one of the fundamental techniques in many speed reading methods.
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#168I tend to use it for sites that have low line-heights. Like this site. The wide page and low line-height make it really hard for me to read. For reading content I'd say a min of 160% line-height.
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#169I like to read longer articles with the diigo highlighter.
Re: Poll: Do you select text while reading?
#170When I'm reading something really intense, it helps me focus -both visually and mentally, on say two or three paragraphs at a time, before moving on.