[thelist] Netscape... why?

aardvark roselli at earthlink.net
Fri Jun 7 20:00:00 CDT 2002


> From: Erik Mattheis <gozz at gozz.com>
> >
> >I really disagree -- I do site development all day long for Netscape
> >4, IE 4,5&6, Opera 5 on Mac, PC for designers who have no concept of
> >working within the constraints of html. I never, ever (except maybe
> >once in a moment of weakness) serve anything different for any
> >platform. Sure, the layout looks a little different on each but so
> >what? Everyone gets a good page. You just have to work at it.
>
> If you had to, how would you use one stylesheet to
>
> - use scroll:
> - style form elements
> - set body margins to a true 0px

his point is that it's ok to look a little bit different from browser
to browser... a good design can handle that...

so it wouldn't matter to him (nor to many users) if the form button
*looks* like a form button in NN4.x, as opposed to some light grey
text on a grey box with a dark grey border, or whatever convoluted
non-form control-looking things the kids are designing nowadays....

> Sure, there's a ton of CSS that will render pretty much the same in
> the majority of browsers ... but some cool stuff that will not.

but cool stuff usually (shouldn't be, for a general site) isn't
required to use a site, and if it is, then the site probably isn't
serving its audience well (or isn't serving an audience with any
NN4.x users)...

[...]
> Back to the subject: of the thread ... I have two clients that insist
> on continuing to use NN 4.x ... both use custom CMSs which are
> stunningly beautiful in IE, Opera and NN 6+ ... I cannot get them to
> switch. They like NN 4.x. Why? WHY? WWHHYYY? --

- because you offer them no reason to, only reasons why it would be
better for you...

- if it ain't broke (which to them, it apparently isn't), don't fix
it...

- the client is always right, even when they're wrong...

hell, i'd still use Word 6.0 if the latest piece of bloatware didn't
come with this machine... i use none of the new features, and i don't
care if someone sends me a .doc with some neat-o something or other,
i usually just wanna read the copy anyway...

--
Read the evolt.org case study
Usability: The Site Speaks for Itself
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151035/evoltorg
ISBN: 1904151035





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