HTML 4.0 Approved

[Andrew J. Mutch]

Tom,

All great points but I think the battle against inertia will be a
difficult one.  Unlike many people on this list, I only "learned" HTML in
the last year-and-a-half and like many, started on a WYSIWIG editor,
Netscape Gold.  Thanks to people like yourself, I've learned Netscape's
(or Microsoft's) version of HTML isn't always good code.  I've weaned
myself off these tools and do almost everything by hand these days in a
nice text editor.  I think the pages I produce are in both design and
code, far superior to what I hacked together in Gold.  However, it has
been an extensive learning experience and I hardly consider myself an
expert.  I'm sure that if anyone looked at my code, they could find
numerous places where it could be improved.  

My point is that the vast majority of people have neither the time or
inclination to "learn" HTML version x.x.  As long as Composer, or Front
Page, or whatever editor you use creates pages that "look good" in the
browser that you use, many of the issues discussed here are irrelevent.
Unless and until the Microsoft's here enough complaints from enough
people, they are unlikely to change their ways.  While people who
specialize in the area can have a greater impact, even as it has been
discussed on this list, there is even disagreement among the "specialists"
about the importance of writing "good code".

Andrew Mutch
Northville District Library
Northville, MI   

> <In Summary>
> In short, I wonder if this new tool will ever be put to use, or if a net
> full of HTML-hacks-as-bad-page-layout Web authors can be coaxed into trying
> things a new way.
> 
> 
> Thomas Dowling
> OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
> tdowling at ohiolink.edu
> 
> 
>