> [Larry Masinter:]
>
> > If a table mixes fonts, you could choose for the em-size:
> >
> > default for document
> > minimum
> > maximum
> > average
> > median
> > most commonly used font
> >
> > I'm starting to lean toward 'maximum' as giving a more likely method
> > of achieving this goal: [etc.]
>
> People can and do use H1 and H2 in tables. Maximum will wreak havoc.
No ... ems are an author interface ... the this author users H1 they
had better adjust the ems they use, if they do.
BUT I think whatever font the browser would use in the first cell
in the absence of any markup which changes the font size is more
logical for the author and user. Depending on the browser it might
be a default table font or the normal document font or the
style sheet font for that table...
My desire/requirement as an author is to have a mechanism which easily
controls the width of some columns based on the content I want to
place in the column *OR* arbitrary horizontal relationships I need
between cells, perhaps in different rows. In the sample tables
I offered earlier (http://www.remedy.com:1792/test/) I had great
difficulty at times with horizontal placaement. I did nasty things
like <pre></pre> around some number of spaces in a dummy row.
I have often found it useful to specify the width of 1 or 2 columns
leaving the rendering engine to handle the remainder or perhaps using
proportional size for the remainder.