US bans time-honoured typeface (Foggy Bottom takes a stand!)

ABC News Online ^ | Jan 30, 2004 | AFP

[Akira]

In a sign that no matter is too small to affect international diplomacy, the US State Department has issued an edict banning its longtime standard typeface from all official correspondence and replacing it with a "more modern" font.

In an internal memorandum distributed on Wednesday, the department declared "Courier New 12" - the font and size decreed for US diplomatic documents for years - to be obsolete and unacceptable after February 1.

"In response to many requests and with a view to making our written work easier to read, we are moving to a new standard font: 'Times New Roman 14'," said the memorandum.

The new font "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12, while offering a crisper, cleaner, more modern look," it said, adding that after February 1 "only Times New Roman 14 will be accepted."

"This applies to diplomatic notes," the memorandum said tersely.

There are only three exceptions to the draconian new typographical rules: telegrams, treaty materials prepared by the State Department's legal affairs office and documents drawn up for the president's signature, it said.

The memorandum offered no explanation for the exceptions, leaving foreign service officers to speculate as to whether the White House, US treaty partners and telegram readers are not yet able to handle the change.

[Akira]

After this, how far behind can a tougher stand on Saudi Arabia be?

[RightWhale]

A huge step. Next they might agree on map scales and projections.

[TheBigB]

I don't see an "Onion" byline, but this has gotta be the most ridiculous thing I've seen in, well, hours. :)

[Constitution Day]

This is totally absurd!

[theDentist]

Whew! For a while there I thought we'd remain behind the Times forever!

[byteback]

Smart move. Memogate will be dead because they are no longer "official documents".

[Salo]

They should be moving to a smaller font to save disk space. ;-)

[weegee]

Was ricin laced letter sent to Frist with the proper font? ABC should be on top of this.

[RightWhale]

We use Arial 12. One thing about the new typeface: use rate of printer cartridges will double.

[anonymous_user]

Next, they'll give up those exploding tape recorders...  
"This is your mission, Jim, should you choose to accept it."

[OrioleFan]

I would have thought they would have gone with a Dingbats font - nobody can understand them anyway.

[In_25_words_or_less]

after February 1 "only Times New Roman 14 will be accepted."

I guess to them sans serif fonts are just grotesque.

[weegee]

Will whistleblowers be required to use House Industries "Fink Fonts"?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think this superceeds the previous memo on memo format.

[Sam Cree]

Times New Roman is a very nice typeface, one of my favorites, very readable.

Ironically, since they call it modern, it is based on the beautiful styles used by the Romans 2,000 years ago.

[Hank Rearden]

This memo's been in the works since the Nixon administration. Takes a while for a matter of such import to get all signed off. Many, many lunches and dinners were required.

[Incorrigible]

There was someone on FR at one time with a nice font for them...

[Incorrigible]

Whoa! Sorry, a little larger than I intended!

[4mycountry]

When Courier New 12 is outlawed, only the outlaws will have Couries New 12.

Oh come on. You knew someone was gonna do it.

[TheBigB]

All your Courier New 12 are belong to us! :)