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Originally Posted by karunaji
Even the quotation marks are different in different languages and there are enough differences even between the UK and US typography traditions (in addition to minor linguistic differences). Preferring one over other may show your bias.
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One of the entire goals of good book design is to maintain the integrity of differing linguistic practices. Reducing everything to a simplistic system of default styles (which will be based on those needed for English) is exactly the sort of thing that will corrupt this.
None of the major reading systems is suitable for setting Arabic, for instance, because they don't support right-to-left languages.
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Originally Posted by karunaji
The whole principle that a reader can change the font size and reading area by will or convenience has never been possible before and is revolutionary by itself.
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Well, I can enlarge the font, but I've yet to find the button that changes the physical size of my reader's screen...
The use of a reflowable format introduces challenges that can easily be overcome. The standards need a bit more development, but it's not as big a deal as you seem to think.
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Notice how fonts and typography standards have changed with time in print even though it is the same media (paper)? Switching to e-ink screens is inevitably going to change typography forever.
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Did typography 'change forever' when print switched from letterpress to lithography? No. All it meant was that fonts needed to be redesigned to account for the lack of ink spread and make sure they produced the desired shape on the page.
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Originally Posted by karunaji
I haven't noticed any substantial differences so far. For example, neither Kobo, nor Kindle supports block centered text for poetry. I don't know if it is due to format or device limitations but at the end I used small left indent.
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This can be done in ePub. You just need to know how to use the code properly.
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Originally Posted by murraypaul
Seems to be a topic that really brings out the elitists, doesn't it.
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Yes, it certainly brings out those who think digital systems represent an elite that doesn't need to bother with established standards. What was your point?
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Clearly everyones eyes and brains are exactly the same, and there is a single font size and style that is exactly perfect for a given situation.
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I've already said that ereaders need to accommodate those with reading disabilities.