Columns in Thread Posts?

[RedMage]

Is there a way to do columns in thread posts? I was thinking of a starting a thread in one of the Writing forum's subforums--I haven't decided whether just the Stories subforum or Collaborative Stories subforum. It would basically be like a fantasy newspaper. But I don't see how I could get the look and, I'm assuming, I'd have to simply do one article, hit the Return key twice, next article... It would look like any other post. There is the table function, but then we get the lines and, say three columns with multiple rows and each row would be as large as its longest "article". So there could be a big white space in the middle because of this short article, that long one, etc.

 

[Hobbit]

Don't think so, but I'll check with the cyberelves......

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I think it's a bad idea. Columns were invented for large pages.

 

[Hobbit]

Hi Ray.

Must admit, I/we've not found a solution here. (Other than it doesn't seem to be an option.)

I quite like it - the pulp reprints and the magazines often use it, for example - but I'm not sure it'll work on a website where many read on tablets and phones.... but if there's an option, I'd be willing to look at it.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

While a magazine is a fraction of the size of a traditional broadsheet and smaller than a tabloid, they are more than two times wider than a typical paperback. The smallest ones are the USA comics and "pulp" magazines, which are maybe 1/2 the size of area of UK comics and UK / Irish magzines, but those are still nearly twice the size of pocket or mass-market paperback. Also the scans don't work well even on 10″ tablet as the design assumes you have two pages side-by-side.

Columns on a website are only going to work well on widescreen browser and then also it's a page orientated format and having to scroll down and up to read even two columns would be a pain. Sidebars on webpages are not the same thing. My experence using web since about 1993 and making websites since about 1994/1995 is that columns are a disaster to read on a web page unless the multiple columns are unrelated, like side bars. An actual article needs to be one column on a website. So it works badly even on QHD and 4K screen and really not at all on phones & tablets.

I have a 4K screen and almost never have browser window much more than 1/3rd width. This site works perfectly at 1/4 screen width and more than 1/3rd just gives more background.

Columns for a single article won't work well till web browsers have a paged mode and even then need a minimum screen / resolution because on anything less than 10″ decent resolution eink or tablet two columns doesn't work and even on those it's poor. On a large desktop (Linux, Mac, Windows) select print preview and A5 or smaller printer page and you get a page mode and ebook-like experience, except no TOC from headings. Won't work on Andriod. Meanwhile Browser development ...