How do some sites disallow changing font size?

Question

I almost always browse the web with a much bigger font size than default. Makes it much easier to read.

But once in a while I notice that some websites don't allow enlarging the font, at least on Chrome. Like this website for example:

I am curious, both (a) as to why Chrome allows sites to do that and (b) as to how that is done.

Can someone explain?

I can change the font size for that site by zooming in FF and IE by holding `Ctrl` and scrolling the mousewheel. Is that not what you mean? — Widor, Jan 21 '13 at 17:01
@widor you will notice that on that site that the main content doesn't change size when you do control ++ or -- — Egryan, Jan 21 '13 at 17:09

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

2

a) God knows, because browser vendors love to implement things that are bound to get abused?

b) -webkit-text-size-adjust is the culprit. See also on MDN and previous question

edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

Community

answered Jan 21 '13 at 17:12

Fusselwurm

I hope someone creates a Chrome extension that overrides `-webkit-text-size-adjust` and has a button to dispatch ninjas to attack the person who decided to use them on the site. – Ram Rachum Jan 21 '13 at 17:19
1

Fortunately, it's relatively simple to use Stylish to override such sites. I'd be better if it didn't require the user to install an extension and create rules... but it's better than being stuck dealing with it. – joequincy Jan 21 '13 at 17:23

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 22 '13 at 20:27

It's a WebKit bug.

-webkit-text-size-adjust should only have an effect on mobile browsers.

But if you set -webkit-text-size-adjust to none, it (mistakenly) affects desktop WebKit browsers (like Chromium/Chrome and Safari), too.

2 Answers2