My List Of Things For People To Do.

The internet is pretty chaotic. This prevents vested interests of any flavour getting absolute control. Still, we all want a little control over our own space so here's my list of things I would like people to do.

The List!

Write their first website using a plain text editor like Windows Notepad or Macintosh SimpleText without using proprietary tags or tag attributes.

Write their first stylesheet using a plain text editor, placing it just before the closing head tag in the page not in-line with the html..

Authors of CSS tutorials or articles place their stylesheet in the head of the document so that new people can extend their learning by being able to easily view the document stylesheet. Do not use a style rule set in-line in the html as the first example of the use of stylesheets (I kid you not! I've seen it !). And do not create a situation where, if the reader/learner right clicks on the page to look at the html, they see a hundred times in a hundred line "CSS" something like:-

<font face="arial,verdana,san seriff"><font color="black"><font size="2">
..blah ..blah ..blah ....
</font></font></font>

Everyone decide! Are we are going to say "stylesheet" or "style sheet".

Stop saying CSS is new. It is not! CSS1 was a web standard with equivalent standing to HTML in 1996 and was included, however badly, in Internet Explorer 3 and 4 and Netscape Navigator 4 in 1997.

And stop saying users must upgrade their browsers! Some users believe poor browser CSS implementation and web professionals reliance on code generating WYSIWYG authoring packages has delayed the introduction of CSS. Such users become hostile when the delay is portrayed as the user's fault.

State file download size and standard installation size. if you really want people to down load a file as part of a service or a business you are conducting use a format like ..."Download the trial Web Wanker v4 (2.7Mb/8.5Mb) now!"

Every who knows get together and explain to the rest of us! How to write style rules to respect user's browser settings. These settings may be dictated by many things - less than perfect eysight, color perception or personal preference. These users argue that CSS is a threat to internet usability.

All parties in the browser upgrade campaign. Convince the rest of us that the object is not just to so that emerging technology can be used to place more animated ads and bigger pop-up ads on our screens etc.

Dont buy or use any service promoted by an unsolicited email (spam) or pop-up ads (popspam). I made up the term "popspam" and I'm proud of it. You saw it first here folks!

Nobody even click on an animated gif ad or pop-up ad!! Never mind buy anything. Animated ads and pop-ups are getting increasingly intrusive. Ignore them and make advertisers understand that only static ads will get responses.

Dont give them your email address. Whenever some process unnecessarily demands you input your email address, don't just make one up or use the email address of someone you don't like. Use the name and office email address of a legislator, representative, member of parliament or whatever who is not actively supporting the introduction of anti-spam laws.

Don't just delete your unsolicited email (spam). Send it to any legislator, representative, member of parliament or whatever who is not actively supporting the introduction of anti-spam laws.

Remember Aussie John's message: "The web is there to share!"

Keep the computer turned off while you are designing a website. Turn the computer on when you are ready to build the website you have designed.

Don't use an authoring tool if it is the only way you can build a website. Learn how to build, perhaps smaller, websites first using style sheets and HTML then learn how to an authoring tool might assist in a bigger project or one involving DHTML for example. In short, if you utilise an authoring tool, make sure it is a useful aid to achieving objectives and not something that you are dependant on and becomes a limitation on your ability to achieve objectives.

Web authors design your sites to comply with web standards first, then make any necessary adjustments to ensure it is readable on as many browsers as possible. Don't design for one browser or screen size then adjust to try and make it readable for others afterwards. And definitely don't write separate stylesheets for the different browsers, as often had to be done in the past.

Make text based versions available.. HTML is the language of the net and should always be available as an option when you are doing something impressive with graphics, javascript or offering text information in, say .pdf format.

Don't use gifs to communicate written information. They cannot be read by text readers or those of us who, out of self defence, surf with graphics turned off. Graphics are used for decoration mainly, art sometimes and graphically presented information occasionally. HTML should be used for text always.

Don't use transparent gifs to space the gifs or position text blocks. I don't just mean the 1 pixal high spacers that were widely used to lay out fixed width pages, that's bad enough, but some people actually use gifs the full height of the gifs or blocks of text they are separating.

Don't use lots of little gifs just because the total file size is smaller. It is not only file size that effects loading times but the requirement for each gif to be sent backwards and forwards from the ISP individually. This not only increases loading time but unfairly imposes a burden on other users using the same service.

Use the term "Peek-a-Boo Site" to describe those fixed width sites aimed at "Internet and IT Professionals" that provide about about 300 pixcels width of information with ads or links on either side adding to a total of about 540 pixcel width (for people using TV sets as monitors or something!). They have width to spare on a 640x480 screen! When you look at it on a 17" screen set at 1024x768 the page layout sits over on the left side of the screen. They don't even have the decency to make it center.

Don't open MS Word attachments to emails. I don't. The email should have a summary of the main points (which means there is no need to open the attachment!).

Don't download files in pdf format. If the content of the file is so unimportant that it does not warrent displaying in html format why should you download a file 20 times the size in order to find that out.

Don't download video files. Some companies are starting to call videos "demos" ..even referring to them as "free downloads". I suppose if their software is not functional then a video in lieu of a real demo version is their only option.

Email me your internet gripes and I'll add them to... The List!