https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1036220
--- Comment #2 from AGS alxgrtnstrngl@gmail.com --- Looking at that bug #1035486 and doing some further testing I've come to the conclusion that following is the bare minimum to make things look right:
/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-sub-pixel-rgb.conf /etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf
As well as installing the 'freetype-freeworld' package also improved things and eliminated any issues mentioned in #1035486.
You were right, either using Gnome or Mate, the desktop shell RGBA and hint-slight settings fixed most issues in most places but applications like browsers that are more or less using their own built-in rendering for fonts are the most severely affected. This is critical because browsers are the single most important core application and the most frequently used. Font rendering in browsers needs to be at parity with Mac OS and Windows 7/8, this can be achieved by simple configuration. I also don't know the status of 'freetype-freeworld' and why it's not included but it should be installed by default.