Henry said:
Add to that a shitload of IE bugs and what we have? A hell in web design
field.
In this light saying, "you have to do this or that" or "you shouldn't
use a tables for layout" is a pure idiocy and those who PREACH that,
they are PREACHERS, not teachers.
I teach the recommendations and recommend using them. At the end of my
beginner's HTML class, I then told the students: "I've taught you the
"rules" (recommendations) which I required you to use during this class.
Outside of this class, you now know the "rules" and are free to break
them as you see fit."
It's a rule of the jungle, so nothing really is right or wrong.
The proper attitude should be... "you could consider use css..."
Not without teaching why they should consider css. That was my point
throughout my class last semester; I taught how to write valid HTML 4.01
along with css and taught them how to follow recommendations. I taught
the reasons behind a lot of the recommendations showing them some very
unwieldy code (huge nested tables) generated by Netscape Composer 4.x
and how much simpler it was using valid markup. My requirement on all
assignments was that the student pages must validate to HTML 4.01 strict.
I had one student that I had marked off for using a deprecated <center>
element tell me later that he would probably use it after the class was
over because it's easier than styling. I don't agree but I told him
that now that he knows what what the recommendations are and a lot of
the meaning/reason for the various recommendations, he was free to do as
he wished after the class. He agreed that requiring use of only a text
editor the first half semester helped him to learn HTML and now knows
how to fix the screw ups that he'll find when using whatever graphical
editor he decides on. He continued that he would probably validate to
4.01 transitional so he could use the said:
Anything else like "this is wrong" is not appropriate.
Wrong by who's authority?
When teaching, guidelines must be set based upon something. Much the
same is true of life in general and applies to creating a web page too.
Do you not judge your own work against some criterion? And if you're
in the business, you cannot help but judge (at least somewhat) others'
work by that same criterion.
Personally I love css but I think I'll replace <div> with <table>.
Much better IMHO.
Anybody else? Let the do what THEY think is working for them.
They are not WRONG. They doing it different way.
Basically, I think we agree. I have a little different perspective though.
--
Stan McCann "Uncle Pirate"
http://stanmccann.us/pirate.html
Webmaster/Computer Center Manager, NMSU at Alamogordo
Cooordinator, Tularosa Basin Chapter, ABATE of NM; AMA#758681; COBB
'94 1500 Vulcan (now wrecked)
http://motorcyclefun.org/Dcp_2068c.jpg
A zest for living must include a willingness to die. - R.A. Heinlein
