[thelist] XHTML Valid Jump Menu

[aardvark]

> From: "Saila, Craig" <Craig.Saila at bgminteractive.com>
>
> I admire your passion for this, but believe it or not, it's not
> "wrong". It may not accessible, it may not be proper, it may not be
> advisable, it may not be a lot of things, but, AFAIK, it's not wrong.

no, kicking kittens is wrong... i believe that *this* is a hack... and a
very old one, and a much assaulted one (for good reason, IMO)...

> Believe it or not, there are people in the world that don't have
> access to back-end services that would allow them to do a "proper"
> form.

but that's *not* a form the way you're using it... and on top of that,
if you don't have access to the backend services, i would argue
that you shouldn't be using a form as navigation because you
*can't* make it universal...

i would say that arguing over the 'action="#"' is moot because the
select menu should never have been there... but again, i'm a bit of
a purist on that front -- everyone knows i think forms for navigation
are wrong (like kicking kittens)...

> Using JavaScript is a /reasonable/ alternative to offer form
> functionality. And specifying action="#" allows a page to validate --
> and it doesn't use the javascript: pseudo protocol. Besides, its
> shorter than including the page URL, and adding a "return false" to
> the script.

at this point, your arguments are kind of minor... the form *won't*
*work* for people like me (i surf with JS off at home most of the
time)...

and you're telling me that that's ok because 1) it validates and 2) a
# is shorter than a URL because 3) you don't have access to a
server-side script...

when in reality the argument should be about the appropriateness
of the form as a navigation element...

validating is great, but this could validate to HTML 4.01 transitional,
and i'd never let it leave the door:
<p><span><font>M</font><font>O</font><font>N</font><font>K</f
ont><font>E</font><font>Y</font></span></p>

so, no, you haven't sold me on the form... and since you haven't
sold me on that, i, also, think the 'action="#"' is a Very Bad Idea
(tm) because it is inherently inaccessible and a hack...


--
Read the evolt.org case study
Usability: The Site Speaks for Itself
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151035/evoltorg02-20
ISBN: 1904151035