Editing 2736: Only Serifs

{{comic
| number    = 2736
| date      = February 10, 2023
| title     = Only Serifs
| image     = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a play upon the main difference between {{w|serif}} and {{w|sans-serif}} fonts. Serifs are ticks, or end-bars, at the ends of lines that make up letters, commonly used in most books and newspapers and also seen in {{w|Calligraphy|calligraphic}} lettering (written with a flat-nibbed pen) and {{w|Signwriter|signwriting}} (often painted and detailed with fine brushes). Rather than mere lines, there are (for example) "feet" put at the bottom of a letter such as <span style="font-family: Serif;">A</span>, and possibly also at angles such as its peak. (In the comic, the first three elements appear to be of such an "A", with the text as a whole appearing to be "<span style="font-family: Serif;">Aa Bb Cc Dd</span>"). Fonts that use this visual decoration are called "Serif" fonts, while others do not and are thus "Sans Serif" fonts ("sans" being French for "without"). [[Randall]] is suggesting a font using ''only'' these accent pieces and skipping the "body" of the letters entirely. Of course, this renders the text basically unreadable, or at least you need good imagination and code breaking skills.

As for the title text, {{w|Times New Roman}} is a widely available and recognized typeface with serifs, being one of the most commonly used fonts of its type. {{w|Comic Sans}} is a ''mostly'' sans-serif typeface (hence the “Sans” in the name) designed to look like (non-{{w|cursive}}, or {{w|Block letters|block}}-style) handwriting, more akin to a basic and unadorned lettering written freehand by thick-nibbed pen, paintbrush, spraycan or chalk/marker upon a blackboard/whiteboard. Many graphic designers {{w|Comic_Sans#Opposition|dislike Comic Sans}} due to a history of amateurs using it in contexts where its informal style is inappropriate, simply in order to vary the font away from the standards of Times or Arial styles (two major serifed and non-serifed families of font, respectively). Defenders claim that it is easier for dyslexics to read, and that it works well in less formal, typically children's contexts. Randall is suggesting here that if you want to severely anger a bunch of graphic designers (i.e. enough to beat you up), then you should try removing the characteristic and aesthetic serifs on Times New Roman and add them instead to the hated Comic Sans – which would probably make it look even worse to a graphic designer.

One of the users of Explain xkcd took the chance anyway of getting that beating and here is what it looks like normally and what it might look like after moving the serifs: <br>
[[File:2736MovedSerifsV2.jpg]] 

Randall has had numerous careers and [[:Category:My Hobby|hobbies]] where he has delighted in exploring novel methods of resolving disputes, all of which has satisfied nobody and led to him being banned from numerous [[:Category:Banned from conferences|events]]. 

The font is probably one of the many variants of {{w|Caslon}}, with its variety of A-serifs; some variants (3, 540) having the double-seriffed C.

==Transcript==
:[A very thin comic panel with three light gray horizontal lines drawn as on ruled paper used for handwriting.  Superimposed on these ruling lines are 15 black markings, either in the form of lines, horizontal or vertical, and in other cases merely dots, and some markings are in between, like a dot with a small line. These marks line up with either the top, middle or bottom ruling lines, with only two dots near the middle line. There seem to be no order in how these markings are placed. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:Instead of serif or sans-serif, my new font is '''''only''''' serifs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]