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Re: [OM] (OT) Web Page Design (was: High Noon)

Subject: Re: [OM] (OT) Web Page Design (was: High Noon)
From: "CyberSimian" <OlySimian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:30:13 -0000
Chris Barker wrote:
>  I have a feeling that CS is disappointed a lot of  the time ...

This is entirely correct.  Your post prompted me to consider what fraction
of the web pages that I visit have either minor defects or major defects.
This is not easy to assess, as I have become inured to pages with minor
defects, so I tend not to expostulate any more when I come across one.  I
would define "minor" and "major" as:

MINOR DEFECT:  A page that has a layout that is obviously not what the
designer intended, but which does not impair the function of the page.
Example: text which extends outside a box that is obviously intended to
contain the text, but which does not overlay any other important elements of
the page (such as other text).

MAJOR DEFECT:  A page where the layout has gone awry to the extent that its
function is impaired.  Examples: (1) text overlaying other text, making the
text difficult or impossible to read; (2) a drop-down selection list where a
significant amount of the text selected is cropped off behind the
rectangular entry field (a frequent occurrence with credit-card entry fields
on shop check-out panels).

Of the pages that I visit, my estimate would be 40-50% of them show minor
defects, and 10-20% show major defects.

Actually, when I started this thread I never expected to convince anyone to
change their web sites.  But I hope that I have sown a seed that might bear
fruit in the future.  When you encounter this problem again, you will have
some understanding of the cause of the problem and how to fix it.

This topic reminds me of the definition of chamber music that appeared in
the glossary of "Bluff Your Way in Music" by Peter Gammond (Wolfe Publishing
1968), viz.:

CHAMBER MUSIC:  Music written for a very small number of listeners.

I think that the definition of "fixed font size" that would appear in the
glossary of "Bluff Your Way in Web Page Design" would be:

FIXED FONT SIZE:  A facility used by web sites that have a very small number
of visitors.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK 


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