People keep claiming that shorter lines are easier to read - especially when discussing user interfaces and fixed width layouts.

I recall a stack overflow question years ago where someone essentially debunked this and had studies to prove that long line lengths were not only not a problem, but actually resulted in faster reading and comprehension, thus supporting his assertion that wide screen monitors and wide editor windows were useful, and that limiting writing to a certain number of characters per line was a waste of time.

Unfortunately I can't find it now, and perhaps there are studies or information that they missed, or has been released since then.

• Is there an "optimal" line length for reading?
• Is it true that very short line lengths are faster and/or easier to comprehend than long lines (for instance, in newspaper columns)?

People keep claiming that shorter lines are easier to read - especially when discussing user interfaces and fixed width layouts.

I recall a stack overflow question years ago where someone essentially debunked this and had studies to prove that long line lengths were not only not a problem, but actually resulted in faster reading and comprehension, thus supporting his assertion that wide screen monitors and wide editor windows were useful, and that limiting writing to a certain number of characters per line was a waste of time.

Unfortunately I can't find it now, and perhaps there are studies or information that they missed, or has been released since then.

• Is there an "optimal" line length for reading?
• Is it true that very short line lengths are faster and/or easier to comprehend than long lines (for instance, in newspaper columns)?

People keep claiming that shorter lines are easier to read - especially when discussing user interfaces and fixed width layouts.

I recall a stack overflow question years ago where someone essentially debunked this and had studies to prove that long line lengths were not only not a problem, but actually resulted in faster reading and comprehension, thus supporting his assertion that wide screen monitors and wide editor windows were useful, and that limiting writing to a certain number of characters per line was a waste of time.

Unfortunately I can't find it now, and perhaps there are studies or information that they missed, or has been released since then.

• Is there an "optimal" line length for reading?
• Is it true that very short line lengths are faster and/or easier to comprehend than long lines (for instance, in newspaper columns)?

People keep claiming that shorter lines are easier to read - especially when discussing user interfaces and fixed width layouts.

I recall a stack overflow question years ago where someone essentially debunked this and had studies to prove that long line lengths were not only not a problem, but actually resulted in faster reading and comprehension, thus supporting his assertion that wide screen monitors and wide editor windows were useful, and that limiting writing to a certain number of characters per line was a waste of time.

Unfortunately I can't find it now, and perhaps there are studies or information that they missed, or has been released since then.

• Is there an "optimal" line length for reading?
• Is it true that very short line lengths are faster and/or easier to comprehend than long lines (for instance, in newspaper columns)?