I bumped up the default font size just a bit (to 14px). I might bump it up another pixel or two, which would put the font size at what it was previously.
For comparison’s sake:
http://web.archive.org/web/20160314090816/http://originaltrilogy.com/announcement/Status-of-the-first-forum-update/id/47378
http://originaltrilogy.com/announcement/Status-of-the-first-forum-update/id/47378/page/1I doubt I’ll make the main container any wider. The only effect that will have is to make lines of text longer and less comfortable to read, and only for the sake of filling up a large display (the same argument made for open matte and cropped scope film transfers, which is no argument at all). We’re already many more characters per line than most typographers would recommend and I’m fighting the urge to tighten it up:
http://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability
I might remove the dark background resulting in the sidebars, which would give the impression that the page is wider. It might be the bounding box that makes things feel squished.
I think the default font up has pretty much addressed it.
I do agree stretching the main container much wider than this wouldn’t really fit the format now that I’m thinking about it (and your analogy is good). I think maybe I was just reacting to the contrast between the background and the main content making it feel more claustrophobic than it was?
Either way, with the font a bit larger it’s definitely comfortable enough for me to zoom back out to default scaling, and I feel like it’s the perfect middle ground between the old style (too big) and the newer (too small), so I think we’re good on the font front at least.