Proposal: Update the monospaced font family

[mvasilkov]

As Menlo is a variant of DejaVu Sans Mono, I suggest using the latter instead of RedHat's Liberation fonts for more unified look across operating systems (every desktop Linux distro I know of includes the DejaVu Sans Mono font by default.)

Also, There's no need to explicitly mention Courier, as it's what monospace defaults to — in the worst case scenario.

[daveliepmann]

How different are DejaVu Sans Mono and Liberation? Could you provide screenshots of the differences?

There's no need to explicitly mention Courier, as it's what monospace defaults to — in the worst case scenario.

This doesn't seem to be true across different operating systems or operating system versions?

Even if it were true, being explicit is a feature. It future-proofs our font stack against browser or OS default changes.

I fail to see the benefit of removing Courier from the list.

[mvasilkov]

This doesn't seem to be true across different operating systems or operating system versions?

Well, the only system where there is literally a "Courier" font is macOS, and it's true on macOS. Windows features its own hideous version called "Courier New", and it's what "monospace" means on Windows. (I'm talking most browsers' defaults here.)

Anyway, it's totally a misfeature:

• Courier looks very different from any sane / actually used monospace font
• Courier is not very readable to say the least. This is partly because it was designed for print
• By putting Courier in font-face, you disallow user / browser vendor to choose a different (== better) monospace font for their browser

So the benefit of keeping Courier is that on macOS, we're punishing the user for disabling Menlo by forcing Courier. In a future-proof fashion.

FWIW, I personally very much liked the use of the term "future-proof" when talking about a typeface designed in 1950s. Thanks for that. Have a nice day.