Why Type on the Web is So Bad

“Every so often, a well-meaning person will come over to my desk and say something like, ‘I’m very interested in fontography.’ I usually close my eyes so I won’t be seen rolling them, and respond, ‘What about typography do you like?’ When the person answers, ‘Oh, everything. Fonts, I like to use fonts. I like to see how many fonts I can use,’ I pause for a second to change the response cued up in my head (‘Try Euthanasia – that’s my favorite font’), stutter, ‘That’s great,’ mumble something about a gas leak back at the apartment, and run away.”