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Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

reuters.com

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Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#491

Post by amluto »

moomoo11 wrote: post #333
zzo38computer wrote: post #55

Calibri font has "I" and "l" the same, according to Wikipedia. A better font should avoid characters being too similar (such as "I" and "l" and "1"). Another issue is due to the font size and font metrics, how much space it will take up on the page, to be small enough to avoid wasting paper and ink but also not too small to read. So, there are multiple issues in choosing the fonts; however, Times New Roman and Calibr…

No. I don’t want the gov wasting money making a fucking font. There’s a few dozen off the shelf fonts that would work for 99.99% of people. For those who it doesn’t work, deal with it. It’s a font. Or fallback to system font.

Neither Calibri nor Times New Roman are free to use, although they are free in certain contexts for Windows users. The US Government is paying plenty for them.

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#492

Post by amluto »

IMO Calibri and Times New Roman are both poor choices: they are not free. The US Government’s works are not generally subject to copyright, and IMO it’s rather obnoxious for their fonts to be restricted. Also, Calibri is specifically a Microsoft font, and maybe the government should be a bit less beholden to Microsoft.

IMO the government should pick something available under an appropriate free license or commission a new font for the purpose.

(I personally much prefer Times New Roman to Calibri for printed documents, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#493

Post by goku12 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #205
weinzierl wrote: post #154

Leaders and typefaces: In 1941 Adolf Hitler personally gave order to make the use of the Antiqua mandatory and forbade the use of Fraktur and Schwabacher typefaces. https://ligaturix.de/bormann.htm

Forgive my ignorance but this seems to be one of the most neutral things Hitler did. He just didn't like the font so he ordered it to be changed. Equivalent to your boss ordering tabs be used instead of spaces. After the war was lost the arguments just continued. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiqua%E2%80%93Fraktur_disput...

> He just didn't like the font so he ordered it to be changed.

There is your answer. He imposed his will - that's what dictators do. You have to be careful when the reason for any costly change is one individual's personal preferences. It's a bad omen.

> Equivalent to your boss ordering tabs be used instead of spaces.

That's not always equivalent, especially if it is to set a standard. Obviously, some people using spaces and the others using tabs is not ideal in situations you're referring to. It's also fine to change the standard, if they find a significant problem with the current convention. But if your boss wants it changed, and their only explanation is their dislike of the status-quo, then that's a red flag. The problem isn't very serious right now, but could grow into one in the future and you have to be on the watch.

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#495

Post by dghf »

hnarn wrote: post #428
tyleo wrote: post #63

Never before has a font change been so politically divisive. I’ll personally be taking my votes to supporters of Helvetica next election.

Helvetica is great for signage, but in my opinion it isn't great for longer texts.

Wasn't it originally intended for signage, advertising, titles, other display text, etc., rather than for body text?

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#496

Post by seanhunter »

nailer wrote: post #388
bulbar wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing is more inefficient than the secretary of state thinking about and conducting meetings about the font used in documents. It just doesn't matter in the sense that it "doesn't move the needle". I expect the leaders of a government deciding on matters that have a real impact on people's live, not on stuff that from a practical point of view is totally irrelevant.

The global impression of the US is worth thinking about. The font is part of that.

Speaking as someone who is not from the US I can say that the global impression of the US is not helped by the secretary of state bikeshedding about fonts. There are important issues of foreign affairs that need thought and attention at this time.

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#497

Post by dghf »

userbinator wrote: post #381

I never liked Calibri when it was pushed aggressively by MS and showed up everywhere - I prefer Arial or Helvetica for sans-serif, and think TNR is a good default for serif, with Computer Modern a close second.

Computer Modern is nice on paper but a bit spindly on screen, IMO: Knuth's other serif font, Concrete Roman, works better for that.

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#499

Post by mr_toad »

Intermernet wrote: post #488
moltopoco wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: > A cable dated December 9 sent to all U.S. diplomatic posts said that typography shapes the professionalism of an official document and Calibri is informal compared to serif typefaces. > "To restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface," the cable s…

Authoritative or Authoritarian?

Fasces or fascist?

Re: Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

#500

Post by mikkupikku »

chinathrow wrote: post #419

> U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor Antony Blinken's decision to adopt Calibri a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters. What a waste of government time and spending.

How much will it cost to change fonts?
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