[thelist] clear form code

[Matt Warden]

On 3/20/06, Luther, Ron <Ron.Luther at hp.com> wrote:
> There is too much contentious infighting for them to agree
> to add a 'general scholarship fund' option and none of them
> will agree to allow anyone else to be the 'default' selection.
...
> Radio buttons with no default?

Like I (and the spec) said, user agents will try to handle radio
buttons with no default, but that might mean that it selects the first
one anyway. In that case, your client isn't going to be happy. In this
situation, I would likely use a select box with an empty option. This
won't confuse the user as much (having a "nothing selected" radio
button and then returning with an error message would be confusing),
and it ought to keep your client happy.

If your client is still not happy, it looks like you'll be using a
"nothing selected" radio button that has display: none.

The bottom line is that the spec says it's not valid usage, and
further warns that user agents handle the misuse in various ways. If
you need a "nothing selected" option, it doesn't seem like radio
buttons are the way to go.

--
Matt Warden
Miami University
Oxford, OH, USA
http://mattwarden.com


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