Menno's meandering menu problem is "fixable" (in a manner of speaking!) by changing the size of the browser window.
You need to reduce the browser window size if the menus veer off to the left, and increase the window size if they drift off to the right. On my W2K system running netscape 6.1, the good size is 27.8 cm, whereas on my laptop running ME and netscape 4.75, 22.4 cm works. 22.4 cm is smaller than I'd ideally want to use considering the amount of space that those flyout menus take... The problem with web page generation software such as that which was used to produce the new pages (Dream (nightmare?) Weaver), is that they are not too clever. Most of the web people I know only use them for  quick proto-typing.

Meanwhile, I too think that the pages look great, and thank goodness, unlike that crappy calendar,  they haven't crashed any of my browsers. Here are two requests/suggestions:

* 1. Would you consider incorporating the "What's New" into the home page?

What's there right now gives a great initial impression, but is really just a pretty navigational page - It provides no information, and hence quickly gets tiresome for those of us who do come to the site for information.  Why not provide the visitors with some info too? (Frames would allow this to be done in a pretty and sensible way.) Certainly I'd always want to check out the news page first. Past experience and knowledge of how active this club is year round would lead me to believe that obc visitors would virtually always want to check out the news page when they come to the obcweb (though it's certainly a good idea to re-analyze this every once in a while with hit counters).

* 2. Would you consider moving the navigational stuff off to a frame?

Here are some good reasons for doing so:

** a. You could then remove the replicated navigational code from each of the web pages with the advantages that:

*** i. The pages will load more rapidly since they are smaller and don't have all those menus and images being reloaded and rebuilt.

*** ii. The site is easier to maintain. With the current layout, you'll have to modify and push out EVERY web page every time you want to add a new category or remove an old one, or change the format of the navigation!. (You already have an inconsistency with the Classy Ads page).

*** iii. You're not clogging up the internet pipes with redundant information.

** b.  It would allow smooth choice of navigational preference - ie.,  javascript or javascript-independent.
This would be REALLY COOL and it is trivial to achieve: Just put a link for the non-javascript navigational
frame at the start of the javascript navigational frame and put a link for the javascript  navigational frame at
the start of the non-javascript frame. Mind you you will find some real-estate issues - ie., the pull out menus must fit in the frame. This discussion shows why I personally feel that  fly-out menus are usually impractical. (I use them for small things at home, and as well would see them as being worthy of consideration  in the case where the menus are small and where the pages' info can be stored separately and then constructed into web pages automatically. Obviously this requires structured (parseable) info - say, something like TT results).

** c. It will let us print web pages without getting the navigational stuff in the printout.

** d. Increased navigational efficiency. (ie. you don't have to page back up to the top to find the navigational
links).

** e. The "Last Modified" information would have some value - ie., it would tell people when the information changed. Currently they have no way of knowing whether the date given reflects a change in information  or a change in the navigational stuff .

Celia (the reject-ed TT results provider, go figure! :-) ).

Menno Spijker wrote:

Hi Rod, The new site layout looks neat. I like it. Some comment: I think it's nicer if the drop down menus on the main page are right below the item that one clicked on instead of more to the left. Further the links from the 2002 photo archive thumbnail pages don't work. I can see the thumbnail pages but if I click on one of the thumbnails I get "Page not found". I'm using IE5.0 on a Win 2000 Pro machine. Menno Spijker -----
Check out our homepage:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/lynne_menno 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 9:58 AM
Subject: [obc] Web Site
 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 Some of you may have noticed by now that the web site has undergone
some re-engineering. 'Fly out' menus - if you have any trouble with them or you do not run
javascript, you will not see any fly out menus. The menu items are
duplicated at the bottom of each page so you can access them that way
instead. You may have to click a couple more times to 'drill down' to
any given page instead of jumping to it via a fly out button. Time Trial Results - previous year's TT results are currently
unavailable, but we will have them back up before Good Friday TTs for
you to check on last year's results. Sorry for any inconvenience. Comments welcome, good or bad. - -Rod Plunkett
Newsletter Editor  
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