atw: Re: writing for the web

Stuart Burnfield wrote:

> Chris Virtue said:
> > Simple - people hate reading off screens.
>
> Do they? Do you have data on that?

General observation: I think it depends a lot on the age of the
person, and his or her experience with a computer. I know many people
under the age of 30 who do almost all of their reading onscreen and
don't hate it at all. Older people, who didn't grow up reading
onscreen, seem to dislike it much more. However....

Personal observation: I have a love-hate relationship with reading
onscreen. For many purposes I find it much easier because I can
enlarge the typeface to a size I can read comfortably... something I
cannot do with a printed page (using a magnifying glass is a major
PITA). In addition, I cannot comfortably read a printed page in low
light, even one with fairly large type, because my contrast vision is
poor; but on my monitor, black-on-white type is fairly easy for me to
read. So while I much prefer a book for many reasons (portability;
ease of reading while sitting in a comfy chair; other factors), from a
*practical* point of view I now prefer reading onscreen... because I
can see the words easier onscreen than on paper. (I am 65.)

--Jean

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