You tell him, Ron.

Uh... Ron, what is your screen resolution?

My screen resolution is not relevant.  The layout of my browser is.  My browser is in a vertical format.  99% of all webpages are in a vertical format.

My resolution is 1024x768, no scrolling needed.  You're doing something wrong.

Just like a game isn't an adventure game unless it's 320x200, a gamer isn't really grumpy unless their desktop is 320x200.  Viva las aventuras!

This is fantastic news! It all but proves Ron is currently developing an old skool 320 x 200 adventure game - I knew it!

No scrolling needed if you resize the browser to cover the whole screen, you mean.

My resolution is 1024x768, too, and scrolling is needed.  That's because I browse with my bookmarks toolbar on the left.  Since I haven't had problems with other Web sites, I find it easier to just ignore Escapist than to conform to their layout.

that's poo man. mine is the same and i sometimes have to scoll! poo poo poo. :(

Mac users tend to not maximize their programs. Waste of space IMO.

It's not the screen resolution that's the problem, it's the font size. If you increase the font size (using minimum font size in Firefox), the layout doesn't take account of that and the text spills out of the box. It's very poor web design to rely on a fixed font size: for example, on my laptop (15.4", 1680x1050) the default font is far too small to read comfortably.

You know there's plain vanilla HTML text versions of every article, right?

I didn't know that.

Thanks for ruining my rant.

Where!

See Alan De Smet below

Can the funds on "Buy a Car 4 Ron" be used to "Buy a 17 inch monitor for Ron"?

But, in the other hand, a gamer who run his desktop OS in 800 x 600... that's outstanding grumpyness :)

Damn right.  The "TXT" links on the bottom are relatively new, apparently enough users complained.  They're still arrogant graphic designers who really wanted a printed magazine and are unable to get over being stuck on the web.  They even admit it, "The Escapist is based on the idea of a quality magazine, that of a fixed and artistically inspired layout with solid and thought provoking content. One of the earliest decisions in creating The Escapist was that we did not want to create another website.".  Do they really believe that "thought provoking content" was possible on plain old websites?  They apparently believe that an arty photo in the background of the text makes the article better.  Free tip: if your articles aren't compelling enough to draw readers by themselves, a red fabric background and art shot of a manniquin won't save it.   For bonus fun, with Firefox hit Ctrl-+ a few times to make the font bigger (a technique I frequently use to make reading text easier) and enjoy the text collage of garbage a typical Escapist page becomes.

As for those people suggesting you make your browser window bigger, sorry, no.  Some of us keep out browser windows reasonably narrow, the better to read long segments of text.  A full screen browser window on many web sites gives me uncomfortably wide text.  Why should I change my behavior for a single web site?  Users spend most of their time on other websites  Isn't it enough to be a vanguard publication covering the game industry?  Why simultaneously try to push the boundaries of what the web is?  And when I'm doing some reading on my 320x320 Palm device at the local coffee shop, wider isn't an option.

I find The Escapist really frustrating.  They've proven themselves clueless about the web.  They run "I love you and your graphical layout is perfect" letters to the editor far more often than modesty allows.  More than one article consists of one interesting thought and a single paragraph of anecdote padded out to five pages.  I'd chalk it off as refugees from the 90's internet bubble, except every once in a a while a really insightful piece escapes.  They did find a niche that game journalism generally isn't considering.

Hey.  Ctrl+.  That's nifty.  I could have used that in the past.

I admit, their layout could be problematic for some.  Their layout usually has something much like 2 pages left to right.  If they had the option to move those two virtual pages top to bottom, and also to resize, like pdf(I read the pdf is bad for online reading thing, but this doesn't intterupt flow, because it's not pdf) that would probably make it work for everybody.

Beside the point, if I'm working in a computer program and I want to read a tutorial or some other web page or text, I will make my two windows full width and half height(because I don't have a dual monitor situation).  In that situation, wider is better.  I also have a 19" at 1280X1024.

hey, you think that's good? Try ctrl and mousewheel. wooo!

I also complained about the text before.  I would print out the PDF version since it was easier than hitting CTRL++ and CTRL+-, since the text would get hidden behind the menu at the bottom right.  Then I discovered the Text link months ago.  It's definitely better for reading it in a web browser.

Dear GrumpyGamer,

Use Opera instead. It's got a rather nifty "Fit to window width" feature that you may find useful.

Love,
A Concerned Reader

Click that little "PDF" link when you want to read the site.  That'll solve all your problems.

Dear Grumpy Gamer,

Real Gamers use WS.

I have a Dell 24" Widescreen LCD 4TW :p

I have a Dell 2405FPW running at 1920x1200, but I'm not sure what that has to do with my browser configuration?  I do not like having to resize my browser to visit someones site.  But then again, I'm just grumpy and quickly turning into the neighborhood crank.  Hey you kids, get off my website!!!

There should be a game where you get to beat the neighborhood kids off your lawn.  Someday, I'm sure there will be(with canes and molotov cocktails)....and there will also be a senator there to bemoan, and possibly ban it.

There should be a game where you manhandle your avatar and his web browser to dodge the slings and whims of outrageous web authors/designers.

Oh wait, there is one.

Thats the Idea, im going to start a new Project today...

Get.those.freaking.Net.Kids.away.from.my.page 1.0
An Apache Mod ^^

I think your Statement is correct, a good page should go with the browser size. Its the try to let a page look like a magazine you are actually reading.
Nice Idea through, but its not the way I wanna read an online magazine...

The Escapist works fine and looks great for me, but thnaks for the new opportunity of loosing time in the web.

The site fits in my browser, but only when I have my browser on fullscreen.  What an annoying design...

I hate strongly dislike the Escapist, but for a different reason. I cannot stand the stock photography. It has literally stopped me from reading articles.

I understand if they want to avoid using screenshots or game art but please, Escapist, please get some illustrators on staff so I don't have to look at shitty photos normally found only in cheap ads or local magazines. Or just make a browsable plain text version.

I'm not even kidding about this, believe it or not. I am visually offended by the stock material. It makes the magazine look pretentious and cheap at the same time, even though the content is often great.

Aw, c'mon! Stock photography is the greatest thing ever!

Mmmmmmmmm...stock photography...

Does this image mean you will now gleefully smack some sense into the faithless?

As already mentioned, they've added the text version. However, rather annoyingly, it seems you have to go back to the graphical version in order to move to the next article.

I find myself often frustrated by the same thing on the Escapist. Fine magazine, somewhat annoying web layout. However, that turns into an advantage when downloading the PDF version (there's a link along the bottom of the page) of the magazine and reading it on a widescreen computer - usually my laptop on the train.

The PDF format will scale the font upwards beautifully and render it with nice antialiasing, as well as eliminate all of the web cruft when displayed in full screen mode ("slideshow" on the mac Preview app). Just make sure to right click download instead of just viewing the PDF inside the browser.

Good luck,

-Miguel

This is why I only read the text version of their articles. It's a complete pain to scroll around.

It's just annoying how people want to make the web an imitation something else.  Some web programs attempt to look like destkop programs, and some websites attempt to be like magazines. I thought people learned their lesson by 1998, but some don't listen.

It's rather easy these days to give a unique look for each page while maintaining a general layout for the navigation and so forth, if that is what they want to go for. they don't need to format the website to look like a magazine in order to acomplish it. They just need people who understand the latest web technologies to make it so.

The TXT version is much better, though the paragraph width is way too long and hard to read on big monitors. And fuck resizing my webbrowser for somebody else! I hope they don't get the idea to add a script to resize my browser, though it really fits with their current way of thinking.

I kind of agree, and I like the fact that most of the web isn't like this, but let them be unique, if only for the sake of uniqueness.

I've got a 19" monitor running at 1280 x 1024 and their magazine fits fine in my browser. In fact there's plenty of room around the edge so perhaps it would work at 1024 x 780.

Are you STILL running at 640 x 480? Man, you have just got to let that old 14" monitor go!

And waste a perfectly good Hercules Graphics Card!!

Mag's fine in my browser, but my screen is stupidly wide (and it's on a laptop... don't ask) so I can watch my DVD's is super widescreen (yes, I am that type of person).

I agree though, things should go from top to bottom, not left to right.
Runtse de fwotzoo, ching baoyo wuomun!
The Chinese had it right all along!

Just remember, kids...if you can't get a job, you can always put up a website (or do a podcast!)

Hello people, are you so bored that you spend time complaining about such an minimal issue?
The site works fine for me, I browse it in fullscreen and I can't understand guys who have 5 tool -or sidebars zapped on.

The designers of Escapist have a different concept of crafting their website, and that's fine with me. Don't like everything being the same.

Also like that the Nethack page has nothing more then plain text on a pure white background.
Just fits the game!

"Hello people, are you so bored that you spend time complaining about such an minimal issue?"

It's supposed to be "a minimal issue" not "an minimal issue". We must argue and take point of your mistake right away!

But seriously, this is pretty much what this website is about, being Grumpy. There's no use being Grumpy about things like war and poverty, that's just being opinianated, to be Grumpy, you gotta be Grumpy about trivial things like this.

They probably would get a lot more readers if they didn't insist on using the format of a completely different media form. Magazine format is designed for physical magazines that you hold and turn pages. There is a reason webpages don't conform to the ways magazines work - webpages are a completely different media form.

I think their issues look very professional graphics-wise, but only for a magazine. I don't see why they don't get them printed instead - I would buy a physical copy. An electronic copy, on the other hand, I am less likely to read unless they modify the layout.

I'm not above taking my laptop to the water closet with me...

Your laptop?!  Dude, that's what the iPod is for.

Not if you a) Wanna watch a DVD whilst in the water closet (hell, if I'm going in with books, and then moving onto a laptop, why not a DVD?) and b) absolutely despise the iPod and everything to do with it.

if only I could keep my legs from falling asleep...

It helps when you don't plant the laptop directly on your lap. For some inexplicable reason, there's a chest of draws right in front of my porceline throne (well, close enough that I can rest my laptop on it and hit pause anytime I want), so that comes in handy. What you want to do is construct a minature table or, just take a box or footstool in with you.

Have I taken this too far?

By "configuring your browser," I think Ron means "dragging the little window resize box three inches to the right." Oh dear, help!

I actually run most of my windows fullscreen, so I don't really mind the Escapists' stupid layout.  It is asinine, but OTOH they did include some funky javascript action so when you press the "Page Up" or "Page Down" keys you automatically go to the next page of the story.

On the first hand, however, that interferes with the CTRL-PgUp/CTRL-PgDn method of switching tabs in Firefox.  So it's a bit of a wash.

hahhahaha! my brain hurts when i read those articles and the side scrolling is a pain in the neck! damn you escapist! damn you to all mighty hell!!!!!!

Just put your screen in 1024x728, Ron.

I thought there would be chance to download .PDF version...

Everyone with a blog or webpage help get this Chuck Norris page ranked #1 for google searches on Chuck Norris . All you need to do is link to the page using the link text of Chuck Norris. Thanks :)

Ya agreed 99% of the webpages are in vertical format and not in horizental. I have never come across the horizental one. Its big pain in the neck with side scrolling!!!!!

Who gave them the idea to design pages in landscape format? I don't know whether it is in Bible somewhere but scrolling up and down is the natural order. So why they tend to be unconventional.

Have u tried to format your pc? Ihave no problems

nice site!!! Keep on doing great work!!!

I WILL RETURN FOR YOUR SOULS once AGAIN!