[WEB4LIB] Re: browser differences

[rich at richardwiggins.com]

Paul,

I'm not sure you read my post in its entirety.  I personally believe that
all sites should be standards compliant and handicapper accessible whenever
possible.   By that I mean that all substantive content should play as well
on a talker for the blind as it appears on a 17 inch TFT monitor.

Ever since the first site went online saying "This site works best under the
browser that I like best" I've been unhappy.  We're still paying the price
of the war between Microsoft and Netscape.  The best sites are standards
compliant and browser unaware.

What I was challenging was the assertion (made by another Rich) that there
exists a class of users called Power Users, who tend to run flavors of Unix,
and who tend to dislike Flash content.  I objected to his characterization
of who is a Power User and his conclusion that we should think about them in
our interface choices, and I pointed out that that group is a very small
percentage of users by his definition.  While one should consider all of
one's user base, given limited resources, if the complaint isn't "I can't
consume the content" but instead is "I don't like how you present the
content" I will try to please the 98% before the .2%.  You can't equate
these mythical Power Users with the blind or the deaf.

Personally, I do not like Flash 99% of the time when I encounter it.  "Skip
Intro" is a symptom. not a solution.   But if a given university or library
thinks it aids their cause to rotate a card catalog in three space when you
land on the home page, AND if all users can still get to their content no
matter what browser they use, more "power" to 'em.

Recent cartoon shows a very fancy Web page with this annotation:

 This Web site works best if you come to MY office and look at it using MY
browser on MY 20 inch monitor using MY settings and MY plugins.

/rich

Paul Taylor wrote:

> 
> If you tune to the vast majority of your audience, then this means you are 
> telling any blind users, "Tough luck, chaps!" and telling deaf
users, 
> "_______." While there may not be many blind users in a college
setting 
> (being a finite group), when you design for the real world, you have to 
> contend with accomodating the blind (web reading software can't describe
> what 
> a Flash animation is 'doing'), the deaf (mp3's used to 'enhance' a site
will 
> simply bog down that person's PC and add not a whit to their experience),
> and 
> those still running 486s, 680x0s, and early Pentiums--all of which will
run 
> slow as molasses when it comes to Flash animations and other manner of 
> multimedia beasties.
> 
> I haven't read the ADA to identify anything related to web services, but if
> I 
> were desiging a site for a college or library, I'd want to make sure I was 
> within at least the spirit of the law, inasmuch as serving my entire web 
> audience. So, standards-compliance, though important, becomes just another 
> issue, as you consider serving those who are disabled (is that the P.C.
term 
> these days?) in some fashion.
> 
> -Paul

_____________________________________________________

Richard Wiggins
Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on the Internet
rich at richardwiggins.com  http://richardwiggins.com