Visitor browser issue

W.W. Webster · August 25, 2013

I've just had a Facebook conversation with a friend who visited my site to view a lightbox image on my SmugMug site which I linked from my Facebook page. The dialogue went like this:

I just had a look at your <image> when I noticed that the small icons on your Smugmug page seem to be broken. Or is it just my browser? I tried two different ones, though. I'm talking about the icons that pop up when you hover over an image.

Everything that pops up is just a four digit code, such as "E0/31"; the forward slash indicating that the "31" is below the "E0". So I'm talking about the arrows that allow navigation to the adjacent images, the icon after the title (that has the comments below it), and the three "comment", "info", and "sizes" icons in the bottom right.

I could try IE to check whether it works with this browser <but> it is not working with Firefox. But wait, I'll try whether it is because I do not allow websites to use their own fonts. This probably explains it .....

Yes, as soon as I allow your website to use <its> own font, I can see the icons. Using characters seems like a good idea, but I do think it is inviting problems. I think there should be icons that will always show correctly, independently of character encoding, users not allowing websites to use their own fonts, etc.

This guy is reasonably IT-savvy - being an Associate Professor in a university information science faculty. Perhaps the problem is all his, attributable to not being willing to see websites' own fonts. Should SmugMug be bothered about this?

WinsomeWorks · August 26, 2013

W.W. Webster wrote: »

I've just had a Facebook conversation with a friend who visited my site to view a lightbox image on my SmugMug site which I linked from my Facebook page. The dialogue went like this: ......
This guy is reasonably IT-savvy - being an Associate Professor in a university information science faculty. Perhaps the problem is all his, attributable to not being willing to see websites' own fonts. Should SmugMug be bothered about this?

I would say, "Well, certainly"-- I mean, it certainly seems that a person should see whatever icons are supposed to be there, even if they got there through FB or wherever.

beardedgit · August 26, 2013

It's a browser-related issue about icons that use a font, have a shufty at http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/52635-strange-box-icons-when-using-firefox-but-not-ie/

Cut to the last post: "... I went into the Settings within Firefox, checked the 'allow websites to use their own fonts' option, and the Plex/Web icons are as they should be..."

So, either SM change to icons that don't use fonts, or users have to ensure that their browsers are set correctly.

Seems to me that users should set their browsers correctly regardless of what SM does, that way their browsers should display icons correctly whatever sites they visit.

Sorry about the late edits.

DJDigitalDave · August 27, 2013

beardedgit wrote: »

So, either SM change to icons that don't use fonts, or users have to ensure that their browsers are set correctly.

Seems to me that users should set their browsers correctly regardless of what SM does, that way their browsers should display icons correctly whatever sites they visit.

Some people with visual impairments choose to override websites' fonts and colors in their browsers in favor of a default font and/or color-scheme that is easier for them to see. The caveat is that some websites may not render as intended. But there is really no "correct" way to set a browser (though, clearly, some folks inadvertently set their browsers in ways that are unnecessary for them and are not optimal).

Visitor browser issue

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