[WEB4LIB] RE: Photos on Home Pages

[Karen G. Schneider]

> have a random image appear on a web page -- any CGI script can do
> that, even if the page where the random image appears is static (not
> generated by a script)...

To approach this diagnostically, it's my guess that many people
maintaining library Web pages aren't able to easily/quickly/flexibly
create, maintain, or update CGI scripts, nor are systems people breaking
down library doors to breathlessly offer support for these enhancements.
That isn't to excuse the use of Javascript, only to (possibly and
partially) explain it.  The appeal of client-side is you can do it
without begging and/or banging your head on the wall. 

HTML editors have picked up on this. So you can use Dreamweaver to
create functionally-correct rollovers and so forth without getting the
necessary background education on alternatives to client-side technology
or access and security issues related to the client-side approach, let
alone a decision-making matrix to decide if you really want to use
Javascript in the first place.  

I love Dreamweaver, but when I reviewed it for American Libraries I
intentionally left out any mention of its "extensions," which are really
tools for embedding Javascript snippets into HTML without any skill on
the writer's part--which was not, imho, such a good thing to emphasize.
However, I do fully understand the temptation.  

Perhaps the librarians creating Web pages are not the only ones who need
the education?

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Karen G. Schneider                 kgs at lii.org 
Coordinator, Librarians' Index to the Internet
Information You Can Trust!      http://lii.org
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