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

["malonowa" <malonowa@wanadoo.fr>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Doug Loss <dloss@suscom.net>
To: <seul-edu@seul.org>; <seul-pub-www@seul.org>
Sent: vendredi 17 décembre 1999 13:40
Subject: SEUL: Re: [seul-edu] Re: Web Site Prototype


> Michael Viron wrote:
> > > 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.
>

I don't see why you can't have a just text page as the seul-edu home page
with a little javascript which redirects the user to something more glossy
should their browser be capable of it. We could easily check for instance if
the browser is netscape/ie and then move straight to something a bit more
graphical. The lynx users of course would remain at the text part.

The problem really is that one has to give the right impression. Whilst we
need to support many different systems, volunteers are more easily attracted
to something that looks pretty and well designed. A mostly text page to
netscape/ie users may give the mental impression that the project isn't
really all that good and may not be going anywhere. We need to market
ourselves to the prospective volunteers. I know that we shouldn't judge a
book by its cover but we do don't we!

Of course if a little javascript could solve this problem then it's not an
issue.

Roman.