diff --git a/src/static/css/pad/chat.css b/src/static/css/pad/chat.css
index 9e0a17dac..bfda0109a 100644
--- a/src/static/css/pad/chat.css
+++ b/src/static/css/pad/chat.css
@@ -98,7 +98,12 @@
 #chattext .time {
   float: right;
   font-style: italic;
-  font-size: .85rem;
+  /*
+   * 'smaller' is relative to the parent element, so if the parent has its own
+   * 'font-size: smaller' rule then the timestamp will become even smaller (as
+   * desired).
+   */
+  font-size: smaller;
   opacity: .8;
   margin-left: 3px;
   margin-right: 2px;