Comments on: Encouraging Web Standards

By: » Give Advice Not Tell Us We’re Stoopid : Pig Work : Weblog of Freelance Designer Steven Clark aka Norty Pig, Hobart, Tasmania

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:08:49 +0000

[…] Vicki’s latest article encouraging web standards is one of my pet peeve’s and why although I’ve been a Web Standards Group list member since practically the beginning I very rarely ever blog and tend to just read the digests. Private communication with members is always more polite than on lists. My theory is that people in the privacy and safety of their own home will tend to Web Rage (kind of like Road Rage) and bully if they think they won’t get hurt. I may be wrong but its been enough times for me to think seven times before clicking send. […]

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:33:15 +0000

Andrew, that is exactly my experience too. It’s so easy to forget what a gradual process it actually is.

It is great that so many more people are trying, these days. The great battle is in getting folks to understand the “why”. Then, it’s very much a “one step at a time” thing. I think everyone learns more with each project they are involved with. Most of us like to push our bounds more and more with each project. We’ll all get there in the end.

I liked this line from 456 Berea Street’s Is XHTML and CSS Easy? post:

You can never stop learning when you’re working in the web industry. The day you think you know it all is the day you should look for something else to do.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:20:58 +0000

Thanks Geoff, I really didn’t want to come across as holier-than-thou cos that’s not how I feel, so it’s nice to get your feedback.

But… by the way… all of the posts I have seen of yours have appeared to me to have pertinent points and be well-thought-out and articulate, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

P.S. Love the Dale Carnegie quote. It is sooooo relevant.

By: Andrew K

Andrew K — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 00:32:25 +0000

Here here, well said!

I think a big part of the problem is ‘assumed knowledge’. Two years ago the concept of a layout constructed with floated columns meant absolutely nothing to me. Now it’s a total no-brainer.

The hard part is remember “hang on, it took me ages to get to this point; where is this person up to and what would be the most beneficial thing I could say to help them over the next hurdle?”

Easier said than done.

By: Geoff Preston

Geoff Preston — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:58:00 +0000

I share your concerns, Vicki, and can appreciate your thoughts, that as standards advocates, it is our role to encourage the use of standards. If you tell people they are wrong, will you make them want to agree with you? No chance! You have just insulted their intelligence and in doing so will quite likely make them want to retaliate. You can blast them with all the facts and logic you want but once you have hurt their feelings you will never change their point of view.

In my opinion, I feel we must all (myself included) take a little extra care and think very carefully about what we post online and what ramifications it may have. It’s so easy for the written word to be misinterpreted; even punctuation can completely change the meaning of what we are trying to say. After only making a few brief posts online, I realize that perhaps I could have expressed my thoughts a little more articulately.

Keep blogging Vicki; you have a way with words.

Geoff Preston

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.�? Dale Carnegie