[O-T] Re: TRF site

["\"Mr. Mike\" Passaretti" <passaretti@sol.med.ge.com>]

What follows is heavily off-topic and MHO, and should be
taken with apropriate measures of salt.

>>>>> "Doug" == Doug Srock <dsrock@oncompsys.com> writes:

    Doug> Dave, So far 4 people have bitched about all four
    Doug> colors.  Are you using an older version of Netscape
    Doug> too?

    Doug>       I am writing the site to be compliant with
    Doug> Netscape 3.

I would submit that you should be writing to either HTML 3.2
or to the proposed HTML 4.0 instead.  Not everyone in the
world (particulary in the world of people who like creaky,
quirky, old hardware like british cars and Amigas) has the
newest nifty browser or computer technology.  And not everyone
is running (or is capable of running) one of the "big two" 
browsers either.  

[From another message Message-ID: <33D30023.541D@oncompsys.com>]

    Doug>  The TRF site will not be in Black & White.

I don't think that's what anyone wants.  I don't know what
other people's comments on the colors are, but I'm guessing
that they range from "hard to read" or "annoying" to "ugly".
They usually do.  Graphical design is hard, and you never
please everyone.  On the technical side, however, "ivory" is
not one of the 16 color names defined by the HTML spec, and
you might be better off with an sRGB couplet there...

    Doug>       If you or anyone else is using an older
    Doug> version of the Netscape Browser or a Microsoft
    Doug> Product, you may not see all of the site correctly.

    Doug>       And you'll miss some really good stuff.

I, for one, will be quite put off if TRF chooses to put form
ahead of substance in their web presence.  More than half of
the Java Applets (for instance) I waste time downloading are
useless and provide me with no additional functionality or
information.  Meanwhile, fully two thirds of the sites I have
visited recently are impossible to navigate without image
loading turned on, and provide no text alternatives.  Before
anyone makes snide comments about 14.4 modems, I'm direct on
the net on a wide pipe, I just hate waiting for images,
especially when they provide me with nothing but pretty
buttons that could have been simple anchors with labels.  Why
does everyone love imagemaps and hate the "ALT" tag?  Now, if
you're going to provide a real-time database engine with
inventory checking and a Java front-end calculator to manage
your shipping invoice, there might be a case to be made for
that over, say, a FORMS based approach.  Just please don't do
the "scrolling banner" thing just for the heck of it,
especially if the information isn't available elsewhere in a
more basic form...
                                                        -MM

P.S. As this is non-britcars related, I will move all further
     discussion off the list unless it becomes relevant again...