🚀 go-pugleaf

In artcile <46@utecfc.UUCP> dennis@utecfc.UUCP (Dennis Ferguson) writes:

>In article <731@othervax.UUCP> ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn) writes:
>>... Any arguments in this context, for and against hyphenation in
>>general, and concering justification/ragged-right, are specious.
>>They fall into the category of "I like/hate Picasso".  Certainly
>>there is room for other styles, and we must provide technological
>>solutions for *all* of them.

This is important!  Back to dennis@utecfc.UUCP:

>If this is true, I find the divergence of the `subjective' opinion of
>the graphics arts industry concerning what looks prettier on the page
>with the objectively-established opinion of the scientific community
>concerning what is easier to read quite interesting. ...

>[our work] concurred with the great body of existing experimental
>measurements of such things as understanding, retention and speed
>of reading of written language in showing that text was most easily
>and efficiently read when it was unhyphenated and unleaded, with
>a ragged right. ...

I will assume these measurements have been made with existing
typographics; or if not, that you were careful to bring in the
graphics arts folks first.  Done wrong, right justification seems
to me much worse than ragged right.  Even if you did your own
typesetting, this is still a lesser point:

>While the technical reasons for right justification have long since
>disappeared, I guess old habits die hard.

*This* is important.  Old habits do die hard; yet they are not only
on the part of the typesetters, but also on that of the readers.
As an anecdotal example, I recently bought a collection of Twain's
writings.  It is set ragged-right, unleaded, and unhyphenated.  I
find that the right margin keeps bothering me.  But of course I
have been `conditioned' to expect a flush right margin in typeset
text.

But that I have been `conditioned' does not mean that I am in the
wrong, and that all text should forevermore be printed ragged-right!

There is room for many styles, and we must provide technological
solutions for *all* of them.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 4251)
UUCP:	seismo!umcp-cs!chris
CSNet:	chris@umcp-cs		ARPA:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu