Re: Poll: RFCs with page numbers (pretty please) ?

[Matthew Kerwin <[e-mail]>]

On Wed., 28 Oct. 2020, 08:10 Andrew Campling,
<[e-mail]> wrote:

>
> For those of us that might prefer to read printed documents, especially
> documents of more than a few pages in length, page numbers are particularly
> help to ensure that the order of the documents does not become jumbled.
> Those that appear to be taking a position that pagination is obsolete might
> want to reflect on the importance of making IETF materials readily
> accessible to a wider audience, many of whom may be accustomed to printable
> documents with tables of contents inclusive of page numbers, pages with
> footers incorporating page numbers etc.
>
>
When I print a text document from Notepad I have to jump through hoops to
get it to _not_ include magic page headers and footers (incl. page
numbers). It does this consistently whether I set my font to 8pt courier or
18pt open-sans. It would probably work for other fonts too. Trying to
include that kind of layout information in the document itself is only ever
a cause for conflict.

For a tool-generated format that includes layout metadata in a portable and
printable way (that, incidentally, also includes any pretty pictures in the
document) there is the PDF version, which seems like a much better fit for
the use case you're describing.

Aside: PDF can also be coerced to support the hot new "hyperlinking"
mechanism, if we ever decide to pursue that. (Probably not in printed
media, though.)

Page numbers are obsolete -- or were never relevant -- in HTML, and have
been questionable in plain text since we moved from fixed-grid console and
print machines.

Cheers
Matthew Kerwin