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#timesnewroman — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #timesnewroman, aggregated by home.social.

  1. 🚨 The Font Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back (In Times New Roman) 🚨 In a shocking twist of fate, the U.S. State Department bravely battled the monstrous forces of #Calibri, only to find itself lost in the dull embrace of Times New Roman. 😴 Because clearly, the fate of international #diplomacy hinges on font size and style. 📜✨
    hsu.cy/2025/12/times-new-ameri #FontWars #StateDepartment #TimesNewRoman #DesignHumor #HackerNews #ngated

  2. 🚨 The Font Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back (In Times New Roman) 🚨 In a shocking twist of fate, the U.S. State Department bravely battled the monstrous forces of #Calibri, only to find itself lost in the dull embrace of Times New Roman. 😴 Because clearly, the fate of international #diplomacy hinges on font size and style. 📜✨
    hsu.cy/2025/12/times-new-ameri #FontWars #StateDepartment #TimesNewRoman #DesignHumor #HackerNews #ngated

  3. 🚨 The Font Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back (In Times New Roman) 🚨 In a shocking twist of fate, the U.S. State Department bravely battled the monstrous forces of #Calibri, only to find itself lost in the dull embrace of Times New Roman. 😴 Because clearly, the fate of international #diplomacy hinges on font size and style. 📜✨
    hsu.cy/2025/12/times-new-ameri #FontWars #StateDepartment #TimesNewRoman #DesignHumor #HackerNews #ngated

  4. 🚨 The Font Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back (In Times New Roman) 🚨 In a shocking twist of fate, the U.S. State Department bravely battled the monstrous forces of #Calibri, only to find itself lost in the dull embrace of Times New Roman. 😴 Because clearly, the fate of international #diplomacy hinges on font size and style. 📜✨
    hsu.cy/2025/12/times-new-ameri #FontWars #StateDepartment #TimesNewRoman #DesignHumor #HackerNews #ngated

  5. 🚨Alert: Another in-depth dive into the colossal world of fonts! 🚨 Apparently, the creation of Times New Roman was so riveting that it warranted a historical account longer than a Tolstoy novel. Who knew font #design could be as thrilling as watching paint dry or counting sheep? 🐑🙄
    typographyforlawyers.com/a-bri #fonts #history #typography #TimesNewRoman #creativewriting #HackerNews #ngated

  6. 🚨 The State Department’s Font Flip:
    A Step Back from Accessibility 🧑‍🦯❌♿
    —ditching accessible Calibri as "woke."

    Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department announced its decision to abandon Calibri—the sans-serif typeface adopted under the Biden administration—in favor of Times New Roman. The internal memo framed this as a "return to consistency," but I see it as something deeper: a symbolic retreat that elevates tradition above accessibility, inclusivity, and the promise of open standards. As someone who values thoughtful design in public institutions, I find this choice disheartening, yet it compels us to examine what typography truly demands in a digital age.

    Typography transcends mere aesthetics; it fundamentally shapes how we read, perceive authority, and feel included in vital conversations. When a government agency alters its typeface, that shift signals its core priorities. The reversion to Times New Roman, a serif font rooted in print-era conventions, risks turning typography into another cultural flashpoint. I sincerely hope this does not herald a broader precedent, but instead sparks a return to evidence-based decisions that serve every one.

    From Courier to Calibri: A Brief History of State Department Fonts

    The State Department’s typography has mirrored the evolution of bureaucratic communication. For decades, Courier New—a monospaced font introduced in 1955—reigned as the default, embodying the analog world of mechanical typewriters, carbon copies, and precise diplomatic cables. Its uniform spacing delivered egalitarian functionality, aligning every character perfectly for legal drafts and official forms.

    In the 1980s and 1990s, as computers reshaped offices, Times New Roman took over. Crafted in 1931 by Stanley Morison for The Times of London, this serif typeface excelled in dense newspaper columns and fine print, projecting the conservative professionalism suited to diplomacy. Yet it was engineered for ink on paper, not the glowing pixels of screens that define our era.

    By the early 2000s, legibility studies championed sans-serifs like Arial and Calibri for digital dominance. In 2023, the Biden administration embraced Calibri precisely for its superior on-screen clarity, accessibility, and visual ease—aligning with best practices from the GSA and Department of Education. Part of the humanist grotesque family (think Helvetica's lineage, tracing back to Akzidenz-Grotesk in 1898 or Highway Gothic on U.S. road signs since 1948), Calibri marked genuine progress. The sudden pivot back to Times New Roman strikes me as nostalgia over necessity, undermining hard-won advances in inclusive design.

    The Return to Times New Roman: Symbol Over Substance

    Officials tout this revert as tradition preserved, but I contend tradition must yield to accessibility. Serif fonts shine in print, yet on modern screens—especially low-resolution or small displays—they falter for those with low vision or dyslexia. The British Dyslexia Association and Bainbridge Group on Visual Legibility affirm that sans-serifs, with their clean, uniform strokes, ease reading and curb fatigue across diverse users.

    Consider Times New Roman's subtle distinctions between "I," "l," and "1"—they blur digitally, inviting confusion. Bainbridge and MIT’s AgeLab research underscores how uniform strokes and open apertures accelerate comprehension in electronic documents. By clinging to this proprietary relic, the State Department bypasses free, open-source gems like IBM Plex, Source Sans, or Lato, which offer transparency and adaptability. Thailand’s 2006 font competition, producing 13 national standards, proves governments can innovate boldly. This choice feels like a step backward, favoring the familiar over forward momentum.

    The Science and Soul of Accessible Typography

    Accessible typography is human-centered design at its core, backed by decades of research into font shapes, spacing, and character clarity for all readers, impaired or not. Fonts like OpenDyslexic, with weighted lower halves to prevent letter inversion, and Atkinson Hyperlegible, which sharpens distinctions between confusable characters like 0/O or 6/b, lead the way. Developed by the Braille Institute of America with Applied Design Works, Atkinson enhances accuracy and speed for dyslexic and neurotypical alike, all without aesthetic compromise.

    Here’s my personal preference: Atkinson Hyperlegible is my favorite—it captures the open, modern inclusivity government design demands. Best of all, its SIL Open Font License makes it free and available for public, governmental, and educational use, unlike the corporate shackles of Calibri or Times New Roman.

    Why Accessibility Matters in Public Typography

    For institutions like the State Department, clarity is no luxury—it's a democratic imperative. Diplomats, journalists, and citizens alike deserve documents free of strain, legible across aging eyes, reading differences, and global devices. Times New Roman, born for 1930s newsprint, dismisses these truths, broadcasting detachment from digital realities. Accessibility isn't political posturing; it's practical humanity, the bedrock of public-spirited communication.

    ---
    References

    - British Dyslexia Association. Dyslexia Style Guide 2022: Creating Dyslexia-Friendly Content.
    - Braille Institute of America. Atkinson Hyperlegible Study. (2021).
    - Bernard, M. et al. “A Comparison of Popular Online Fonts: Which Size and Type is Best?” Usability News, Wichita State University (2003).
    - Morison, S. A Tally of Types. Cambridge University Press (1939).
    - MIT AgeLab. “Typography and Visibility on Digital Displays.” (2014).
    - Shaikh, A. (2007). “Impact of Typeface Design on Legibility and Reading Comprehension.” Behavior & Information Technology.

    #InclusiveDesign #StateDepartment #Courier #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #A11y #Typography #Accessibility #A11yMatters #DesignForAll #WebA11y #StateDeptFontFail #FOSS

  7. if you spare some enthusiasm after all these talks about #Calibri and #TimesNewRoman there's likely a tiny font maker in this world that needs your support.

    So buy, donate, send feedback and most importantly give credits to those #type designers that oftentimes work with passion without fair recognition.

  8. Now that they are asking universities for the names of Jewish students, is there a pool for when the more Naziesque of the United States of Nazis will notice that Marco isn't exactly Aryan, as all must be? I've noticed that he's not getting the good Nazi gigs. Perhaps someone already has.

    mstdn.ca/@dyckron/115702458574

    #USpolitics #stupidity #TimesNewRoman #Calibri

  9. Nella loro crociata contro qualsiasi cosa odori di Woke e di programmi DEI (Diversità, Equità, Inclusione), Trump e il Segretario di Stato Marco Rubio muovono guerra al font tipografico Calibri, imponendo che in tutti i documenti ufficiali si ritorni al Times New Roman.
    L'utilizzo del font Calibri era stato promosso dall'amministrazione Biden in quanto facilitava la lettura a chi soffre di alcune disabilità visive; tanto è bastato per metterlo al bando.

    #Calibri #TimesNewRoman #Rubio #DEI

  10. The default font Microsoft Word chooses when creating a new document is Aptos microsoft.design/articles/a-ch i.e. Calibri hasn't been the default font in nearly 2½ years.

    #Calibri #Aptos #TimesNewRoman #Microsoft

  11. Guerra de Tipografías en EE. UU. – El Departamento de Estado Etiqueta a Calibri como «Contratación DEI»

    El Departamento de Estado de EE. UU., bajo la administración actual, está revirtiendo la decisión de 2023 que había adoptado la fuente Calibri (sans-serif) para todas las comunicaciones oficiales. En un memorando interno titulado «Retorno a la Tradición», el Secretario de Estado Marco Rubio exige el regreso a la fuente tradicional Times New Roman (serif) de 14 puntos, calificando el cambio anterior a Calibri como una degradación de la correspondencia oficial (Fuente The New York Times).

    🏛️ El Contexto Político y de Accesibilidad

    El cambio de Calibri a Times New Roman se enmarca en un debate que mezcla estética, funcionalidad y política.

    La Perspectiva de la Administración Actual

    • Regreso a la «Profesionalidad»: El Secretario de Estado Marco Rubio argumenta que el cambio a Calibri no logró nada más que la «degradación» de la correspondencia oficial, ya que Calibri es percibida como «informal» y choca con el membrete del Departamento de Estado.
    • Posicionamiento Anti-DEI: Si bien Rubio señaló que Calibri «no fue una de las instancias más ilegales, inmorales, radicales o derrochadoras de D.E.I.A.», el informe sugiere claramente que la eliminación de la fuente es una manera sutil (y, según el artículo, «extrañamente insignificante») de cumplir con la postura anti-DEI (Diversidad, Equidad e Inclusión) de la segunda administración Trump.

    La Razón Original del Cambio (2023)

    El exsecretario de Estado Antony Blinken había adoptado Calibri en 2023 precisamente para mejorar la accesibilidad de las comunicaciones oficiales. Las fuentes sans-serif (sin adornos o «pies»), como Calibri, son conocidas por funcionar mejor con tecnologías de asistencia como lectores de pantalla y herramientas de texto a voz, mejorando la legibilidad para usuarios con discapacidad visual.

    La decisión subraya un choque entre la defensa de la tradición y la formalidad, y las consideraciones de accesibilidad y tecnología moderna dentro de las instituciones gubernamentales.

    #arielmcorg #calibri #dei #departamentoDeEstado #estadosUnidos #infosertec #portada #timesNewRoman

  12. OMG! Jetzt ist es passiert, ich bin in einer Sache der gleichen Meinung wie Marco Rubio. Für längere Texte finde ich persönlich die "Times New Roman" schöner und lesbarer, als die "Calibri". Von #Trump hätte ich allerdings ein Plädoyer für die "Imperial" erwartet, mit Initialen in #Gold. Und von #Musk war sicher eine Fraktur gewünscht.
    Ein Font für die ganze Mischpoke? Dann die "ComicSans".

    #Typografie #Font #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #ComicSans #USA #Zeitung #Donnerstag #Design

  13. OMG! Jetzt ist es passiert, ich bin in einer Sache der gleichen Meinung wie Marco Rubio. Für längere Texte finde ich persönlich die "Times New Roman" schöner und lesbarer, als die "Calibri". Von #Trump hätte ich allerdings ein Plädoyer für die "Imperial" erwartet, mit Initialen in #Gold. Und von #Musk war sicher eine Fraktur gewünscht.
    Ein Font für die ganze Mischpoke? Dann die "ComicSans".

    #Typografie #Font #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #ComicSans #USA #Zeitung #Donnerstag #Design

  14. OMG! Jetzt ist es passiert, ich bin in einer Sache der gleichen Meinung wie Marco Rubio. Für längere Texte finde ich persönlich die "Times New Roman" schöner und lesbarer, als die "Calibri". Von #Trump hätte ich allerdings ein Plädoyer für die "Imperial" erwartet, mit Initialen in #Gold. Und von #Musk war sicher eine Fraktur gewünscht.
    Ein Font für die ganze Mischpoke? Dann die "ComicSans".

    #Typografie #Font #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #ComicSans #USA #Zeitung #Donnerstag #Design

  15. OMG! Jetzt ist es passiert, ich bin in einer Sache der gleichen Meinung wie Marco Rubio. Für längere Texte finde ich persönlich die "Times New Roman" schöner und lesbarer, als die "Calibri". Von #Trump hätte ich allerdings ein Plädoyer für die "Imperial" erwartet, mit Initialen in #Gold. Und von #Musk war sicher eine Fraktur gewünscht.
    Ein Font für die ganze Mischpoke? Dann die "ComicSans".

    #Typografie #Font #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #ComicSans #USA #Zeitung #Donnerstag #Design

  16. OMG! Jetzt ist es passiert, ich bin in einer Sache der gleichen Meinung wie Marco Rubio. Für längere Texte finde ich persönlich die "Times New Roman" schöner und lesbarer, als die "Calibri". Von #Trump hätte ich allerdings ein Plädoyer für die "Imperial" erwartet, mit Initialen in #Gold. Und von #Musk war sicher eine Fraktur gewünscht.
    Ein Font für die ganze Mischpoke? Dann die "ComicSans".

    #Typografie #Font #TimesNewRoman #Calibri #ComicSans #USA #Zeitung #Donnerstag #Design

  17. I don't mind whether it's Times New Roman or Coliblri or ComicSans as long as it's served up in plain text

    #typography #timesNewRoman #colibri #plaintext

  18. 🚨 Breaking news, folks! A #senator is now moonlighting as a #typographer because, apparently, font choice is the hill to die on. 🤦‍♂️ Move over, Calibri, Times New Roman is back, and it’s bringing the thrilling intrigue of 2004 with it. 📜✨
    reuters.com/world/us/rubio-sta #BreakingNews #FontChoice #TimesNewRoman #2004Nostalgia #HackerNews #ngated

  19. Who knew a font could be woke? U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asked diplomats to ditch Calibri and return to using Times New Roman in official communications. The State Department adopted Calibri in 2023 because it's considered a more accessible font for people with disabilities. A cable sent to diplomats yesterday read: “To restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface." Here's more from @huffingtonpost.

    flip.it/Mjtc-L

    #Design #Fonts #Typefaces #Calibri #TimesNewRoman #MarcoRubio #StateDepartment #DEI

  20. “This article was amended on 10 December 2025 to refer more correctly to Times New Roman and Calibri as typefaces, rather than fonts.” My type of humour.

    #Calibri #TimesNewRoman
    theguardian.com/us-news/2025/d

  21. @tml The fact that Calibri is from this century hints that exclusive rights may be part of it.

    Calibri is proprietary and copyrighted to Microsoft. Use of Calibri as a web font requires a license from Monotype, which is known for raising prices on short notice.

    Times, by contrast, is old enough that any type design patents have expired (after 15-25 years based on country). It is available from more than one publisher, such as "Pelham" by DTP Types and URW's "Nimbus Roman" under a free software license.

    #typeface #copyright #FreeFonts #FreeSoftware #TimesNewRoman #calibri #URW

  22. 1930s nazi Germany also banned fonts they didn't like.
    American fundamentalists haven't an original thought in their heads #calibri #timesNewRoman

  23. The #disasterrecovery #document has been published. And thanks to #Emacs #orgmode #export to #opendocumenttext, I found the process of updating #style far more tolerable than if it were all #wysiwyg.

    But really, can our company document #template, which I am trying to #imitate, please use a #serif #font for the body text? Please? Yeah, #TimesNewRoman is kinda #basic but at least it works well in #paragraphs. I can’t #sansserif for 47 pages straight.

  24. The #disasterrecovery #document has been published. And thanks to #Emacs #orgmode #export to #opendocumenttext, I found the process of updating #style far more tolerable than if it were all #wysiwyg.

    But really, can our company document #template, which I am trying to #imitate, please use a #serif #font for the body text? Please? Yeah, #TimesNewRoman is kinda #basic but at least it works well in #paragraphs. I can’t #sansserif for 47 pages straight.

  25. „Sicher, für eine andere Schriftart hätte man rund 20 Dollar ausgeben müssen. Vielleicht war dem Vatikan selbst das zu viel.“

    archive.ph/JOUwD

    #Papst #Franciscus #Kerning #TimesNewRoman #Trajan #Spiekermann

  26. „Sicher, für eine andere Schriftart hätte man rund 20 Dollar ausgeben müssen. Vielleicht war dem Vatikan selbst das zu viel.“

    archive.ph/JOUwD

    #Papst #Franciscus #Kerning #TimesNewRoman #Trajan #Spiekermann

  27. „Sicher, für eine andere Schriftart hätte man rund 20 Dollar ausgeben müssen. Vielleicht war dem Vatikan selbst das zu viel.“

    archive.ph/JOUwD

    #Papst #Franciscus #Kerning #TimesNewRoman #Trajan #Spiekermann

  28. „Sicher, für eine andere Schriftart hätte man rund 20 Dollar ausgeben müssen. Vielleicht war dem Vatikan selbst das zu viel.“

    archive.ph/JOUwD

    #Papst #Franciscus #Kerning #TimesNewRoman #Trajan #Spiekermann