<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability --> <!--X-From-R13: Qnyvona Fverfvnf Rnexybpx <pnyvonaNqnexybpx.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 01:35:32 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199804150135.VAA16344#relay,mnsinc.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: Pine.LNX.3.91.980414225634.2021F-100000@uni-corn.demon.co.uk --> <!--X-Reference: 199804142259.PAA164116#under,engr.sgi.com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00167.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00169.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00161.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00178.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00168">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00168">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00168">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability </LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Caliban Tiresias Darklock <<A HREF="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 21:35:57 -0400</LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On 04:16 PM 4/14/98 +0000, I personally witnessed J C Lawrence jumping up to say: > >There is no navigation bar on the left. There is a navigation bar on >the right however, which I'll assume you are referencing. > >This is a function of browser display width and the way tables are >handled. Its not cute, and it could possibly be addressed with style >sheets were I willing to cut off the large the non-CSSS-capable >browsing public. As opposed to violating the web design guidelines in HTML 4.0 ;) >There isn't a whole lot I can do there, and there >are extremely good reasons to place such navigation tables on the >right vs the left Personally, I've always balanced the right/left thing like this. If you put the navigation on the right, then the cursor is more likely to be right over there since most people put the mouse on the right of the screen and swing it outward to the right in order to get the cursor out of the viewing area. Makes the site more ergonomic. (For everyone else. I use a Logitech TrackMan, so it's actually more ergonomic for me to spin the cursor over to the left. If you've ever used one, you understand.) If you put it on the left, the user is used to seeing it there, so he feels more comfortable. In addition, in a framed site, if the sidebar doesn't scroll (which it usually doesn't) and the main viewing area does (which it usually does), the scrollbar goes at the edge of the window where it "belongs" instead of in between the frames which looks rather weird, visually jarring, and quite annoying. In short, the sidebar *should* be on the right in purely technical terms. However, when you actually do this, you'll find that the site is just plain uncomfortable for most people... and they won't really know why. The most verbose description you'll get from the average person would be "It just doesn't (look/feel) right". In the end, they won't like it, and won't be able to articulate the reasons well enough for themselves to say "Oh, that isn't a big deal, I can live with that". This often slips by testing, because the developer says "Oh, see, it's because of the sidebar being on the right" and then the testers go "Oh! Okay! Yeah, that's it!" and then they all tell each other about it, and it's not a problem. However, the developer isn't there with the rest of the users to tell them this little tidbit, so they end up disliking the web site for some reason and not knowing why and possibly attaching some strange reason to it. So I always put it on the left. Mostly because I'm more interested in having a wide audience than I am in having a technically perfect site. Same reason I use FONT tags instead of stylesheets... I'd prefer to use stylesheets, because I'm a little bit anal retentive and secretly afraid the W3C police will come banging on my door and revoke my web developer's license, but I just don't see the tradeoff as being worth it until the browsers at least support the whole CSS baseline. Scratch that, IE almost does, so: Until NETSCAPE supports the whole CSS baseline. ;) Usability note for framed sites, considering the last message I wrote up... putting the sidebar on the right or along the bottom and not using a top frame might actually put the initial cursor focus in the main window where it belongs. Hmmm. </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00160" HREF="msg00160.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Greg Munt <greg#uni-corn,demon.co.uk></LI></UL></LI> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00161" HREF="msg00161.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> J C Lawrence <claw#under,engr.sgi.com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00167.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] There can be.. only ONE!</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00169.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Other mailing lists</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00161.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00178.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00168"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00168"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00158" HREF="msg00158.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Holly Sommer <a href="mailto:hsommer#micro,ti.com">hsommer#micro,ti.com</a>, Tue 14 Apr 1998, 18:52 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00159" HREF="msg00159.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Cimri <a href="mailto:nospam#gte,net">nospam#gte,net</a>, Tue 14 Apr 1998, 19:22 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00160" HREF="msg00160.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Greg Munt <a href="mailto:greg#uni-corn,demon.co.uk">greg#uni-corn,demon.co.uk</a>, Tue 14 Apr 1998, 22:00 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00161" HREF="msg00161.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Tue 14 Apr 1998, 23:01 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00168" HREF="msg00168.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Wed 15 Apr 1998, 01:35 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00178" HREF="msg00178.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Holly Sommer <a href="mailto:hsommer#micro,ti.com">hsommer#micro,ti.com</a>, Wed 15 Apr 1998, 15:30 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00177" HREF="msg00177.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Matt Chatterley <a href="mailto:matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org">matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org</a>, Wed 15 Apr 1998, 12:45 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00164" HREF="msg00164.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Vadim Tkachenko <a href="mailto:vt#freehold,crocodile.org">vt#freehold,crocodile.org</a>, Wed 15 Apr 1998, 00:23 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00165" HREF="msg00165.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] META: Web site backgrounds and readability</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Wed 15 Apr 1998, 01:12 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>