[thelist] Is this a list?

[Matt Warden]

Amanda,

On 9/26/05, Amanda Kuek <amandakuek at gmail.com> wrote:
> http://home.exetel.com.au/loompaland/list_screenshot.gif
>
> The part I wanted to bring to the List's attention was, well, the list.
>
> It's basically a wishlist. The idea is that people click on the item
> they'd like to commit to. "Taken" items have the "tick" image next to
> them. Untaken items are have an empty checkbox image.
>
> I just wanted to ask how people would go about doing this. Is it best
> to do it as, well, a list? Or would one do it with tables? (Which
> doesn't make sense to me, seeing as it is a list, really).

You could argue either way, depending on whether you consider the
checkbox as part of the data being displayed. I personally would
consider this a list.

> My initial idea was to have 2 list classes, .checked and .unchecked
> for example, with different list-style-image images (ie, ticked and
> unticked). Is this the way to go about it?

You will be better off using background images and a left margin.

> Another thing is, I'm not sure how to put in those horizontal lines,
> which I thought improved readability. Any pointers?

ul {
   border-top: 1px solid #c33;
}

li {
   border-bottom: 1px solid #c33;
}

(alter the color appropriately)

> Also, what's the general list opinion on JavaScript message boxes? I
> thought perhaps some sort of "Are you REALLY SURE you want to commit
> to The Fridge? Yes/No" alert would be quite handy, but if it's bad
> practice, it'd be just as easy to have that as the next page rather
> than as an JavaScript popup.

Again, you could argue either way. if you view this as a user aid or
enhancement, then using JS is fine. Otherwise, it is only fine if you
provide a fallback for those without JS enabled.

I would say this is a user aid and not part of the core application,
so JS is fine.

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


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