Who are all of these mad heavy-handed authoritarian web nuts that you're talking about? ;)
>From what I see there are different ways of putting over a point, each one usually as legitimate as the other and they all usually contribute to a stronger understanding of web standards for those new to the area and for those with more experience. Web designers tend not to be stupid people and if you can put forward an intelligent and logical argument, there's no need to sit on the fence. Being prescriptive is obviously a bad thing, but justified reasoning can be enlightening and inspiring. When I want to learn something, I want to know how to do it the right way and, usually, the best way. I know it's going to take me time to learn it, but I'd rather know what I'm ultimately aiming for rather than going for something that's not quite as good. > I think most people would agree that there are *some* individuals who > have a very purist and prescriptive approach to standards. Purist is ok, as long as it doesn't affect practicality. Prescriptive isn't ok, but even if an 'extreme' argument can be backed up with sound justification then it can only be a good thing. > There is > also a lot of "theoretical" discussion about web standards going on at > the moment. For people within the community, I'm sure all this all > feels reasonable. We know that we are partaking in a theoretical > discussion and that in reality, things are less black and white. > However, if you are outside the community, this kind of attitude can > feel extremely intimidating. Or, if the full potential of web standards can be conveyed, inspiring. I agree that there is a big difference between the theoretical and the practical, but again, where are these people who put theory before practice? > However some individuals can come > across as dogmatic and prescriptive. Nobody likes being preached at or > being told that their hard work is in vein because they used a table to > lay out a form, or have a few minor validation issues. Agreed. Who's saying that though? Most comments I see are along the lines of "this would be better if..." rather than "No you oik! Your work is WORTHLESS CRAP DAMN YOU!" > I think it does the community and the web standards cause a much > greater disservice to stand dogmatically behind a set of beliefs, thus > helping to reinforce the stereotypes even more. Don't stifle discussion > or knock those who deviate from the party line. I'm all for pushing the > standards boundaries, but we also need to accept and talk about the > limitations involved. If we don't acknowledge and discuss the > limitations as a community, you know that others will. Acknowledge limitations yes, but where there are real demonstratable advantages to be had they should be raved about; shouted from the tree tops rather than beating around the bush. Patrick ---------------- Patrick Griffiths (PTG) http://www.htmldog.com/ptg/ http://www.htmldog.com ***************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help *****************************************************
