On Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 1:31 PM, Tom Ditmars <zar...@zarggg.net> wrote: > On 12/29/2011 01:02 PM, coder wrote: >> I had an awful job getting her to understand what [a browser was], >> but eventually she explained : "I use my e". This was subsequently >> clarified by the explanation that she meant the small blue thing at >> the bottom of the screen. Let me add that this lady sits in front of >> her PC, at work, using the internet 5 days a week, all day, and has >> done for 10 years that I know of. > > That is the failure of either her employer for failing to train her > properly or herself for failing seeking the appropriate training to do > her job. Web developers should not and cannot be expected to cater to > users who "use the [Web] 5 days a week ... for 10 years" and refuse to > learn to use it efficiently. > > I would dare to venture that the world has reached a point where knowing > about things like "tabs" or "right-clicking" should be expected. The > World Wide Web has existed for nearly 20 years.
There are still many people that have not used the Internet. Or barely use it. Not everyone works in an office. Not everyone has been able to afford a home computer for 20 years, or 10, or even 5. Not everyone even likes to be in front of a computer. There are many who absolutely loathe using them. Everyone that uses the Internet is not you. It is not *us*. We are very different from most site visitors. They think nothing like us. I work with those people every day, in a variety of settings. I've been working in this field since '98 and I *still* meet people who are using the Internet for the very first time. My personal take is: design functionality based on your target demographic. If it's a saavy demographic, then work with that. If it's the general population, then about half of them can't use a computer, or just barely can, and work around that. Internet access and usage varies by country, province, state, economic and educational brackets, age, and so on. Every demographic will interact differently with a website. Users surprise us often in how they will approach a site. -- Janice Schwarz GeekArtist Web Solutions, LLC www.geekartist.com Phone: (214) 302-7575 Twitter: GeekArtist ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: memberh...@webstandardsgroup.org *******************************************************************
