G'day
1. How many were generated with a WYSIWYG editor?
Why would that matter. Not even the tools can get tables right?
If a large portion of the sites' developers used a flawed tool, it
explains partly why a large portion of them had the same problems.
That's why it matters.
2. How many were generated by some sort of server side script?
So script writers can;t get tables right either?
Well, what does your research show? I have seen plenty of script
driven sites that do not validate, whether they use tables or not.
3. How recently had they been updated?
Why would that be in any way relevant?
If a site is 3-5 years old, do you expect it to be written in the "new way"?
4. Were they "nested tables rule!" types (which I hate too)?
Some. So now some tables based layouts are good and some not? Which
ones are they? Why?
Conversely, are all div based layouts good? Why? I'd rather see a
simple, clean two or three column table than a page suffering from
divitis and classitis (like the Barclays home page mentioned in another
thread).
It's a bit like statistics - they can be used to prove almost
anything, depending on how you interpret them :-)
Or rhetoric, which can be used to convince oneself of just about
anything.
I've seen plenty of evidence of that in this debate, from both camps.
So here's a little more of it.
In the end it is a matter of choice. A matter of what "Standards based
design" means to the individual web developer. In your case it seems
to mean "never use a single table for page layout". In my case it means
"only use a table for layout if the alternative is proving too difficult"
Tables are only as complex as you make them and yes, I have seen plenty
of astoundingly complex table based layouts. I have also seen awfully
complex css based designs.
Anyway, I've said enough. I'm happy to dwell in the middle ground,
doing what I can with what I know.
Regards
--
Bert Doorn, Better Web Design
http://www.betterwebdesign.com.au/
Fast-loading, user-friendly websites
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