Quote:
Originally Posted by dwig
If the user intentionally overrides aspects of the design it is their lookout.
Also, good pbook design requires using a specific font so why doesn't ebook design need the same requirement. No software can automagically generate a good small font rendering with any and all fonts. Adequate in some cases maybe, but not truly good.
This thread started in response to statements that extant ebooks in general are poorly designed and that new formats are needed to remedy this. The first, in my experience, is all to often true, but the second is totally false. The vast majority of "ugly" ebooks that I've encountered are ugly because lazy, inept, ignorant, and pinch-penny publishers fail to properly redesign their old pbook source files when creating ebooks.
Pbook designs don't convert to ebooks well using any automated software. Such conversions are only a starting place. The designs need to be altered by an skilled designer to fit the abilities of the ebook formats and the reality of the available readers hardware and software.
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Small caps is overall poorly supported (even outside of ebooks), for various reasons, and indeed I don't think the format is at fault.
I don't think good pbook need specific fonts in all areas. The "bread an butter" font (used for paragraphs) can have a lot of leeway, and I think font selection in ereaders is ok to good. I'm happy with my Kobo as I can add my own fonts (well, mobilereaders contributed fonts ahah =P). But it's nice to have specific fonts, sometimes, for dropcaps, chapter titles, and some peculiars parts here and there.
I'm not sure we need a new format, but I think there's place for improvements. In some areas, and notably drop caps, ebooks are lagging behind paper books. I'm personally not satisfied with the current tools and the current state of the format, and I worry that the traction seems very poor.