# Did the font change? What's up with the W? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 12, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564 "2014-01-12T06:17:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/1 "2014-01-12T06:17:35Z")
All of a sudden it looks like the Dope is being typed on an old-timey manual typewriter with a worn-out ribbon. All the W’s are faint and fragile. Does anyone else notice this, or am I nuts? (rhetorical questions, I assure you) How did this happen and how do I fix it? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/2 "2014-01-12T06:23:15Z")
The Ws have always been weird. They have been discussed before. It probably depends on the zoom level you are using. They are fainter at some zooms (in Firefox, anyway). I am not seeing any recent changes though. It must be your browser settings. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/3 "2014-01-12T06:25:32Z")
They look faint on my PC at work, using Exploder. They look fine at home on Safari. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/4 "2014-01-12T06:35:15Z")
How Og fix? Have rock. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/5 "2014-01-12T06:39:58Z")
Some previous threads on the subject of The Dope’s faded Ws: > **['W' and 'V' Look Faded On My Computer Screen.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=708254)** > > I just noticed something today on the SDMB. “W” and “V” look a little faded on my computer screen. Every other letter apparently seems fine. Has anyone else noticed this? What could be the cause of this? It doesn’t seem to be a serious flaw. And... > **[SDMB Needs A New Typewriter Ribbon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614408)** > > OK, so at first I thought I needed to clean my glasses - then I thought I was having eye problems, but the “w” on all of the threads (not thread titles) is faded compared to the other letters! Seriously - on my computer, the letter “w” is somewhat... ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/6 "2014-01-12T08:53:49Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from General Questions to About This Message Board. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/7 "2014-01-12T08:57:04Z")
Nothing has changed on the SDMB side of things. What browser are you using, and has it updated itself lately? This only seems to affect certain versions of certain browsers (and maybe only on certain OS versions). ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/8 "2014-01-12T12:37:36Z")
I’ve never noticed it on FF, either on the little desk monitor at work, or my large one at home. I did try Chrome at home once, and couldn’t stand the way text looked on any website, not just the Dope. It looked - smeary - is the best I can describe it. Since I spend a good amount of time here just reading sometimes, I need text to be crisp and clean. It really is a large part of the reason I keep sticking with FF. Sometimes I switch to Chrome for YouTube videos, but the text still looks all blocky and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-font-change-whats-up-with-the-w/678564/9 "2014-01-12T16:51:47Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Some previous threads on the subject of The Dope’s faded Ws: > ['W' and 'V' Look Faded On My Computer Screen. - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=708254) > [SDMB Needs A New Typewriter Ribbon? - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614408) I found these to be … _helpful._ . . . **NOT!** 😃