SEUL: Re: [seul-edu] Re: Web Site Prototype

[Doug Loss <dloss@suscom.net>]

Michael Viron wrote:
> 
> That's fine--it is very easy to fix that--I was planning on replacing the
> text menu along the side with graphics anyways.

I _strongly_ advise against doing anything that's graphics only.  The
whole point of HTML and the World Wide Web is to present information in
a pleasing way that degrades gracefully depending on the capabilities of
the user's browser.  Gratuitous use of graphics for elements that are
just as easily represented textually is the bane of many people using
text-only browsers.  These include the blind, people with less-powerful
systems (often in less developed countries), and web indexing programs. 
Even if they don't constitute a large percentage of our reading
constituency, I feel we must be accessible to them.

> Actually, a stylesheet (i.e., a CSS file) is only retrieved once for an
> entire site, regardless of where it is referenced.  If you use inline
> stylesheets, then the browser has to load (and parse) the stylesheet with
> every page it loads.  (not to mention it is terrible maintenance-wise.)

> Actually, the styles that I am using in the prototypes style sheet are
> supported by at least Netscape 4.05 and later, and Internet Explorer 4.0
> and later.  I've been very careful not to use any style element that is not
> supported by both browsers.

I agree with all of this.  I think judicious use of stylesheets are a
major win for a site's appearance and maintainability.  And of course,
the content is still available to browsers that don't use stylesheet
suggestions.

> You have to be very careful how you set % widths--That's fine provided you
> don't have an image with a set pixel width as your "title".

Are we talking table title or top-of-the-page title?  For
top-of-the-page, I don't see the problem.  Of course, I have the general
problem (as alluded to above) with images of text rather than text
itself.

> The biggest problem is where do we want to stop?  Do we want to design a
> page that is just text--so that it will totally work with lynx? or do we
> want to help ease the task of maintaining the site?
> 
That's kind of a straw man argument.  You don't have to design a page
with just text to work properly with lynx or w3m.  You just have to be
careful that the graphics you use have appropriate ALT attributes, and
that proper use and navigation of the site doesn't depend on things like
javascript or java applets.  You can use all that stuff, you just have
to be sure that their lack doesn't break the site's usability.  I find
that running a site through Bobby <http://www.cast.org/bobby/> gives a
very good idea of where it needs to be modified to meet these
specifications.  Personally, I'd never consider putting a page on-line
without checking it through Bobby first.

-- 
Doug Loss                 The difference between the right word and
Data Network Coordinator  the almost right word is the difference
Bloomsburg University     between lightning and a lightning bug.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Mark Twain