Standards at any cost?
I have resisted even commenting on this issue because, quite frankly, Geoff has done a damn fine job of stating anything I would have attempted to say anyway. This conversation is really misdirected I believe. This is the classic case of attacking the messenger because you don't like the message. So in support of what Geoff has already said, here's my view.
I agree completely that standards have a place and we need people pushing for them. Not at the expense of the user however, this should be at the expense of the supplier. Rather than attack a technology like Flash or SWFObject that has made conventions available to work with browsers that don’t conform, why not attack the non conforming browser themselves if that’s where your frustration really lies. Seems to me if you have a fundamental problem with the embed tag, you don’t go after the people who are forced to use it to achieve cross-browser friendliness, you go after the browsers that force this need. But maybe its just more sheik to bash Flash than Mozilla.
The guy who stirred this whole thing up (this time) commented on Geoff's blog
"The logical reply to your opening question is that users should be allowed to suffer because in most cases, they paid for their browsing software (albeit as one component of their stock OS install)."
So when a user suffers do you really think they blame their browsing software? Really? No, they blame their designer/developer for doing a shit job because their site (that they also paid for, and probably paid a higher price than they do for their browsing experience) isn't as usable as it could be.
As far as I'm concerned (which I'm sure means little to anyone but myself) I'll keep giving my users the best experience I can, using the best tools available, and not forcing them to suffer the civil war we as designers/developers have to fight daily... that’s what I get paid for.
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August 20th, 2006 at 11:41 am
here, here!
im not the greatest html/css guy – thats not my fault
but i try to learn the new age proper practiices – to do as you said – give my clients/users/visitors the best expierence.
August 20th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Can I publically distance myself from this kind of lunacy? In a choice between serving the user and serving technology, the user is the obvious correct choice. The only difference in opinion is I prefer UFO over SWFObject, and I admit the difference between the two is tiny.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:35 am
This is a great and very informative blog I tried this the other week after I saw it advertised and you sum it up right.. Just brilliant!!