[WEB4LIB] Re: Netscape 6

[Thomas Dowling]

>
> Everybody else:  "It's almost impossible to figure out what those basic
> principles are and still give the users what they want.  Since the Big
Two
> browsers don't follow the official standards, we have to go beyond the
> official standards.  The vast majority of users can use javascript and
> graphics, and our pages can be improved by them if we keep good design
> principles in mind.

I think Julia's done a good job of recasting the discussion in less
volatile language.  I'm just ringing in again with a grace note on the
"vast majority...can use javascript" comment.  According to
www.thecounter.com, 15% of their hits in October showed javascript
disabled; 15% also showed Java to be "unknown," which I take to mean
disabled.

Obviously, they're measuring a self-selected sample, but their figures for
OS and Browser percentages look in line with industry figures.  They're
also measuring a sample from the Internet at large, while many of us have
somewhat more homegeneous user populations.  Regardless, I would guess
that the number of no-javascript/no-java users at our sites is closer to 1
in 10 than 1 in 100.

Nowhere in this discussion has anyone suggested relying on such
technologies, but to me this is another reminder that they have to be used
with a cautious eye toward assuming that they'll be available to the user.
How many of us know for certain that no '<a href="javascript...">' links
or forms without submit buttons have creeped into our sites?


Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu