HTML etiquette

Mon Oct 13 00:47:08 EDT 1997

On Sun, 12 Oct 1997, Michael Reagan wrote:

> Sheryl, you are welcome to criticize my code any day of the week.  I know 
> that I do basically good work, but perfection has never been in my job 
> description, and the pursuit of perfection, while sometimes satisfying, 
> is also suspect, in my experience.
> 
> I can always learn, however, especially from knowledgeable colleagues.
> That's why I am copying the list on this message.
> 
> Most of the stuff on library.csun.edu is either my work or that of 
> colleagues whom I have taught; suggestions for betterment are always 
> welcome.

I've found this debate fascinating.  Some people "don't have time" to
write pages that validate, etc.  Others think it's more important to write
for one browser over others.

I wonder--is the opposite true, that we can't afford NOT to?  When I got
interested in validating, I discovered hundreds of errors in a long set of
personal pages I maintain.  I'd gotten sloppy since I started html markup
in '93 or '94, and figured I'd never get 3.0, and then 3.2 validation on
my pages. I've not used editors alot, although i have HotDog both at here
at work and at home.  More often than not I use vi on the server, or
Wordpad or Notepad, w/ a fair amt.  of copy and paste thrown in. 

When I started submitting my pages and got beaucoup errors my stubborn
side came through again.  I took the time...dozens and dozens of hours on
my own time, and got out every mistake in probably 1000-2000 lines of html
markup on most of 9 main pages linked from my home page.

Essentially, I relearned how to correctly build pages after 4 years.  As
I'd first been taught. The experience was invaluable.

My 2c.