Re: Readability of extended list items?

Subject: Re: Readability of extended list items?
From: Dan Roberts <Dan_Roberts -at- IBI -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 08:58:36 EDT

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but if you are asking whether
having the 'dingbat' of the list item extended to the left of the left
margin impairs readability, my gut reaction is yes, it does impair
readability.

Why?

Because the reader has no way to determine whether a paragraph
following a list item is a continuation of the list item or is a new
paragraph in running text after the list has finished. Having the text
of the list items indented gives a visual clue about how information
in laid out in the list and when the list is over.


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Readability of extended list items?
Author: Beth Mazur <mazur -at- maya -dot- com> at tcpgate
Date: 12/1/96 1:04 PM


I'm having a discussion with a coworker regarding the readability of extended
list items (as opposed to indented or flush with the left margin) in
print material.

For example, consider the following:

Level One Head

(deleted stuff)
o This is a bullet item.

o This is a second bullet item whose text will wrap to the left margin
of paragraphs and the level two and three heads.

This is a paragraph. Note that extended lists also includes numbered
lists as well as bullet lists.


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