Wherein we discuss the merits of Comic Sans

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

is there an Erisian Liberation Font?

There should be.

[Triple Zero]

Yeah Gentium is one of the prettier fonts that comes with Linux.

Wow, prepackaged Gentium?  I wasn't aware of that. Is there anything that isn't better about Linux?

With Ubuntum, afaik. But then, Macs come prepackaged with Helvetica and some other nice fonts.

And Microsoft has ... Comic Sans

[Jean-Lustine d'Hadamard]

I remember some advice from a learning support office somewhere that Comic Sans made text easier to read for those with dyslexia (don't know what the evidence was). Action on this from those who typeset their exams with LaTeX was, to say the least, not forthcoming.

I'd like to see that research.

I seriously doubt that a crooked rounded sans-serif font is better readable with dyslexia than a serif like LaTeX uses.

It is probably anecdote-fuelled bullshit.

Worse is the proliferation of Lucida Sans and Verdana in printed material (at the same establishment, the former was deemed the font of choice for body text in letters). Neither of these fonts seems to be designed for printing, they're optimised for the screen. Plus they're shite.

they are optimized for the screen indeed, however that is completely separated from how well they perform in print. because the screen optimizations (hinting etc) aren't used when printing.

also, I disagree that it is "worse". it may arguably be bad (I don't care that much myself), but not worse.

It was worse from my point of view. I didn't have to deal with exams, but blocks of text with vertical and horizontal strokes of comparable thickness were suddenly everywhere.

[President Television]

I hate Comic Sans MS because it gives me a headache. I don't see how anyone could possibly find it easier to read.

[Lyris_Nymphetamine]

its a sexy and very useful font if you're an unimaginative 8th grader.
the font should not exist!

[MMIX]

Ok, so I'm been having an argument on the Webcomic List Forums about the Comic Sans font that is so much maligned.  Personally, I don't get why people hate it so much, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's just bandwagon behavior and most of these haters wouldn't know Comic Sans from Helvetica.  But I figure PD.com is a churning cauldron of hatred, so if I'm likely to hear a decent argument against Comic Sans it would be here.  So anyone have any thoughts?

I had a thought - but somebody stamped on it 

[Shai Hulud]

Ok, so I'm been having an argument on the Webcomic List Forums about the Comic Sans font that is so much maligned.  Personally, I don't get why people hate it so much, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's just bandwagon behavior and most of these haters wouldn't know Comic Sans from Helvetica.  But I figure PD.com is a churning cauldron of hatred, so if I'm likely to hear a decent argument against Comic Sans it would be here.  So anyone have any thoughts?

I had a thought - but somebody stamped on it 

Physician, heal thyself.

[MMIX]

Physician, heal thyself.

ouch guy - low blow . . . I'm out

[Requia ☣]

because no, if Comic Sans is indeed extra readable for dyslectics, I'm pretty sure that there must be other, better-looking fonts out there that are even more readable, and have the added bonus that their style and appearance doesn't make it look like you did not really care about the way your message is taken in

According to a brief browsing of Google Scholar, Comic Sans is more legible for Dyslexics, however Ariel and Sans Serif are also supposed to work.

[Requia ☣]

I will say for comic sans that it is the only handwriting style font I've seen that's legible in lowercase at small sizes.

That said I'd rather use an all cap than comic sans.

[Brotep]

I assume we're talking about bold comic sans, never having seen non-bold comic sans.  Wait, maybe once.  But it was a long time ago, and the memory is fleeting.

[MMIX]

purely anecdotal but as someone with poor and ageing eyesight I actually find non bold CS an easier read though I can't find any research to back that up yet