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To get the second subject out of the way first: there is still one more letter left to be claimed for Jacob Alphabet Soup. If you can write 100 words or more on Jacob and/or Selmac by August 24, with the letter V (or A) as your prompt, please sign up! We do have a backup author ready (thank you, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
acarlgeek!), but I prefer to have one letter per writer whenever possible.
Now: light formatting. I first discovered ?format=light about seven or eight months after I started reccing. Since that time, I nearly always link to fics in light format. Part of it was prompted for dial-up users, so they wouldn't have to wait for styled banners, animated gifs, and so on. But mostly it's because when I'm reccing a story, people are interested in the text, not the individualized LJ style - particularly when there are lots of LJ styles out there that are more distracting to the text than anything else!
Yesterday, however, someone specifically commented to a rec, remarking that she didn't care much for light formatting. And this intrigued me, because even if there are a lot less dial-up users nowadays, I have always thought that people who want to read a fic are primarily interested in the text of the story, not the style of the author's LJ. When I asked for clarification, she explained that for her, it looks all wrong: too much space between paragraphs, too wide on her screen, the black-and-white contrast too glaring. She also said that links go missing and awry in light format.
(I do know that Stargate Fan Awards had to remove the light format links from nominated fics - maybe it's for similiar reasons?)
So now I'm wondering how many others might feel that way. Do you prefer light format when you're reading fic, or are you happy to read in the journal's regular style? Maybe my assumption that light format is best is outdated? If you'd care to increase my understanding of this, please take the poll over at LJ and let me know!
acarlgeek!), but I prefer to have one letter per writer whenever possible.Now: light formatting. I first discovered ?format=light about seven or eight months after I started reccing. Since that time, I nearly always link to fics in light format. Part of it was prompted for dial-up users, so they wouldn't have to wait for styled banners, animated gifs, and so on. But mostly it's because when I'm reccing a story, people are interested in the text, not the individualized LJ style - particularly when there are lots of LJ styles out there that are more distracting to the text than anything else!
Yesterday, however, someone specifically commented to a rec, remarking that she didn't care much for light formatting. And this intrigued me, because even if there are a lot less dial-up users nowadays, I have always thought that people who want to read a fic are primarily interested in the text of the story, not the style of the author's LJ. When I asked for clarification, she explained that for her, it looks all wrong: too much space between paragraphs, too wide on her screen, the black-and-white contrast too glaring. She also said that links go missing and awry in light format.
(I do know that Stargate Fan Awards had to remove the light format links from nominated fics - maybe it's for similiar reasons?)
So now I'm wondering how many others might feel that way. Do you prefer light format when you're reading fic, or are you happy to read in the journal's regular style? Maybe my assumption that light format is best is outdated? If you'd care to increase my understanding of this, please take the poll over at LJ and let me know!
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