On Sat, Mar 8, 2014 at 10:09 PM, Quim Gil <qgil@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Regardless of the conscious decisions of Wikimedia designers, it seems
that such decisions are overridden by the conscious decisions of OS
and browser vendors. As long as web fonts are out of the table, it
seems that the difference between "sans-serif" and a full fledged font
stack including proprietary fonts is none for the majority of users
(Windows and Android), slight for the minority of Linux users, and
then, yes, Apple users get Helvetica Neue instead of Helvetica.

Quim, 

You're making the same mistake Rob did in his assessment on Wikitech-l, by ignoring all of the other changes in the typography update. The change to the body text stack is a slight one in some sense, yes. But it's not the only change. In addition to adding the explicit sans-serif body styles, there is also change to the body font color, size, and line spacing. 

Typography is not just choosing a font family. It's also setting that type in a way that is harmonious with our design goals. This is the first time any professionally trained designer has ever managed to get something in production that holistically improves our desktop typography. It's a Big Fucking Deal. I for one, and sincerely tired of hearing everyone bikeshed about this one element of the beta. 

As you say, this part of the new CSS changes little in terms of setting an entirely new font family for users. However, it changes a lot more elements that absolutely essential, like the size of the body text, spacing, and color. These changes, plus the added assurance that we know what experience we're delivering consistently across devices and on each platform, is the point of this typography refresh. 

The amount of discussion devoted to the body copy font stack in particular signals to me that people most concerned about this are doing so because of the entirely irrational dislike of referring to a font that is not FOSS. This is superficial, and it fails to bring the focus back to what is going to achieve a more consistent, usable, and beautiful reading experience for all. 

--
Steven Walling,
Product Manager