: the New York Public Library Style Guide. A real-world example of how to make the move to web standards.
Updates here have been
sporadic due to a great deal of busy-ness, but also because I’ve been working on a new design and playing around with Moveable Type, the new micro-CMS on the market.
The new design is going to be pretty nice, I think (if I do say so myself), but I’m having trouble rendering it using no-tables techniques. My current thinking is that the world should progress in that direction ultimately, and for extremely simple pages it is much more efficient to work with than tables are. Trouble is, there are just as many fudges and workarounds required as there were using tables, which pretty much makes the whole endeavour beside the point. So I’m going to have to make a decision – and right now, I’m leaning towards using tables. The point of all-CSS design is to dispense with workarounds and browser silliness (at least one of the points is to do so). If I can’t do that, I don’t see the point in making the switch.
Documenting 9/11
: A site called webArchivist.org is spearheading an effort to properly archive sites that featured commentary or links about the attacks of September 11.
We are asking for volunteers to help us identify any web sites or pages that have information or content about the Sep11 Attack. We are especially interested in finding sites by individuals — that record their feelings, experiences or opinions. We are also especially interested in finding non-American sites.
What do I have to do
to support the new Weblogs.Com XML-RPC interface? I’m sure some will ask the question, “why should I have to support this system. Shouldn’t it be supporting me?” I’m not asking that question, because for me the give and take on both ends is perfectly fine, I give to it, it gives back to me. But there’s a leap here that many won’t really see the point in making. Will that break a system that, above all, is fundamentally about engaging the network effects that come from being able to join easily?
Naomi Klein
: Game Over: The End of Video Game Wars.
When I was in undergrad I published my first and only paper in a journal. It wasn’t actually much of a paper, and I never followed up on the subject very seriously, but it resonates a bit now.
The paper was about the rise of trade unionism in the First World War in Germany and the UK. The story is often forgotten, but it’s important. The British Union movement staunchly resisted the war effort, and in particular resisted giving in blindly to the government’s demands due to “wartime considerations”. They fought tooth and nail for concessions in working hours, in pay rates, and most importantly for recognition by the state.
Britain still won the war (with lots of help from others of course), and not in spite of the Unions, because the criticisms they brought to the table improved the conditions of people in general, which led to greater success and support in general for the war effort.
There’s a lesson in this for us, today. Important parts of societies can be critical of their government and strive for improvement while not dooming the whole effort. Societies can be improved during crisis periods, and such improvement doesn’t always mean blindly following along, necessarily.
The price of freedom, it is said, is eternal vigilance. That applies equally, always, inwards as well as outwards. The external foe is not the only threat.
