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Re: "point size" is not usable as a term


From: Peter Schaffter
Subject: Re: "point size" is not usable as a term
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2021 04:47:49 -0400
User-agent: Mutt/1.9.4 (2018-02-28)

On Mon, Apr 19, 2021, Bjarni Ingi Gislason wrote:
>   Bug #60403 (closed) unified the writing of "point-size" to "point
> size".
> 
>   The problem is,
> that this coinage does not make sense.
> 
>   The "point" in this compound,
> is a name of a unit of measurement,
> is thus a constant,
> but its definition
> (size, numerical value)
> depends of the used measurement system
> (system of units).
> 
>   The right term is "type size",
> which is usually measured (stated) in "typographic points".

And then there's the real world, where 'point size' is used
by every (English speaking) typesetter, graphic designer, and
proofreader I've ever worked with.  Like it or not, 'point size'
became synonymous with 'type size' a very long time ago.  The groff
manual is not a place for grinding semantic axes.  Use of the
near-universal 'point size' is preferable.

-- 
Peter Schaffter
https://www.schaffter.ca



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