October 16, 2002, 9:26 PM ET
No updates for a few days
I'm off to New York City tomorrow morning for the annual Online News Association conference. I'm not sure whether I'll have Web access, so this site might not be updated for a few days. I'll be back Sunday night.
October 16, 2002, 12:54 PM ET
Wednesday's recommended reading
Digital Web Magazine has two good articles: "Creating User-Focused Websites" and "Making a Timeless User Experience." The latter article, in which I detected a bit of disaffection toward the Web standards movement, suggests designing to accommodate older browsers is essential. I'll point out that well-designed, standards-based sites are accessible in all browsers -- even the old ones.
A new Webmonkey article, "The Secret Life of Markup," clarifies what "markup" really means and sheds light on the importance of separating presentation from content.
Mark Pilgrim deconstructs the myths of Web accessibility. I like this quote particularly:
The next time someone stands up in a design meeting and claims that you don't have any blind customers, ask them if they care about search engine placement. Then remind them that Google is a blind user who reads the entire Internet every month, and then reports what it sees to millions of its closest friends.
Have you seen the css-discuss Wiki yet? It's a growing resource of CSS tips put together by folks from the css-discuss mailing list. Because it's a Wiki, anybody can add, delete or change its content. This is true community-driven content. I've contributed a bit; the obsessive-compulsive completist in me really relishes in adding information and filling the gaps. (As an aside, I'd really like to see a newspaper start up a community Wiki...)
