Misteps on the path toward web standards?
Misteps on the path toward web standards?
Written by craig coffman
I have been told by friends about the typo in the title. It is intended. Just a small (unfunny, apparently) joke. I am keeping it
This article points out some interesting ideas of how we are, perhaps, not helping the web by following standards. Now, this is not to say that standards should be avoided, but that we are possibly not implementing them in the best fashion. More correctly, by simply hearing the W3C, or some other Web Standards group say what we should be doing, we need to do more than just listen. We need to pay more attention.
Philipp Lenssen is a bit hard to read at times. Not that I have room to cast stones, but a few of his points are difficult to grasp and may require a second or third read-through. However, he makes a good commentary on css hacks and their necessity. But also cautions of future pitfalls. Mostly he focuses on the mantra that people are pushing today such as "The Web's Becoming More and More Accessible Every Day." Sure, we all think this, but many of us are taking steps in the other direction. There is an over usage of cut-and-paste coders out there lifting and inserting cool new gizmos and additives without truly understanding how they are undermining the direction the web could be heading. AJAX is, obviously, the newest buzz to leverage.
As well he makes a few good points about css and how simply using it does not mean you are developing for the future. It is a good stepping stone, but not the end of the path. Simple things like setting font sizes too small. While accessibility might not be harmed, the other 95% of the web will need to look harder at your site. And no, we cannot assume people know about the text resize buttons (which I used to offer on my site).
The topic I was least aware of is his critique of Mobile Web. His thoughts on what providers / developers are doing incorrectly I had not heard. Recently it seems like everyone is pushing toward devices and that traditional web will be less impacting as the growth curve pushes onward. I am only beginning to understand how to leverage the mobile platform, and his thoughts give me things to consider. Most importantly, if the mobile platform is where everything is heading then we could be looking at the same FUBAR we currently have with trying to develop by Web Standards for modern browsers. Interesting insight, and one I am glad to be aware of earlier rather than later.
This article takes a different stance on Web Standards, and is pretty successful with conveying an alternate point-of-view to the chorus of buzzword followers. While Lenssen is not stating definitively these problems will cause the downfall of the current push towards a standards based web, he has some insights that we all should take into account, whether we stay our own course or foray onto a potentially better path.