| Page Index |
| Huh, What? | An overview of what this page is all about. |
| JavaScript | A heated discussion of JavaScript and abuses of it. |
| Frames | Featuring what I consider to be the most annoying page on the Internet! |
| Cookies | The evils of Netscape and MSIE |
| Colors | A lively discertation on color schemes. |
| Impress People | Learn what really impresses people about web-pages that will have them coming back to visit again and again! |
| Miscellaneous | Anything else I feel like ranting about at the time. |
| Huh, What? |
| Welcome to my Internet Annoyances page. These pages are intended to inform the new HTML web designers of the world what NOT to do and why not, in my opinion. While there are a lot of great looking, well organized, and easy to navigate web pages out there, there are a lot more pages that are not. These pages are not intended to teach you how to program HTML or JavaScript. Instead they should be used as a guide of what to avoid. In other words, these are things that I find annoying on other people's web sites. Keep in mind that I am not excluded or innocent from commiting some of these annoying crimes. I have done some things on my pages in the past that people have found annoying. There are people who find my current pages annoying--from playing MIDI's automatically to using Javascript. I can't please everyone, so I don't try. What I do try is to please myself first, then ask for input from others. If I feel their point is well justified, then I'll see what I can do to update/change the pages. In the end, however, this form of discussion will help form a better, more enjoyable Web. However, no matter how hard we try, someone, somewhere will find your masterpiece annoying in one form or another. |
| JavaScript |
| JavaScript was designed to help make the Internet more dynamic and interesting. It's a very simple programming language (I use the term loosely.) with many limitations. But that hasn't stopped people from abusing JavaScript. |
Javascript Authorship. |
| Many people are concerned about the authorship of JavaScript code. By virtue of the JavaScript language, every person who visits a site with JavaScript has the source-code. The best you can do is put a copyright notice before the code. Please note that I am the author of all the JavaScript code found on all my pages. And I claim the copyright to my code. I've written this page to let people know that, "Yes, I can program JavaScript on my own." While I demonstrate many "new" techniques on this page, generally I don't use most of them because they add little or nothing to the web-experience. |
A Brief Message to the "Elite". |
| A special note to all you you "elite" wannabes--Stop being so lame. (You know who you are.) "Elite" has come to mean: Pompous, self-righteous, ignorant teenager who couldn't code his way out of a paper bag. I'm tired of seeing kids playing with the basics of JavaScript; displaying useless information on their page about visitors' browser specifications because they can. I'm also tired of hearing from a select few people who have visited my site and said that I don't use the latest techniques, but it still looks "Okay." Lets face it, the latest HTML and JavaScript techniques I've seen have been utterly useless. Here, let me use a few of those wonderful "tricks". |
| Useless Javascript Information |
| I could tell you all kinds of information about your web-browser such as: | |
| The code name of your browser is: | |
| The name of your browser is: | |
| The version of your browser is: | |
| The user-header of your browser is: | |
| Your host is: | |
| The host-name of your host is: | |
| The URL path portion of the URL is: | |
| The port of your host is: | |
| Your host is using the following protocol: | |
| You got to this page from: | |
| Let's see what I can find on your hard drive! | |
| Of course all this information is terribly boring and useless to visitors. People visiting your web site already know what type of browser they're using. I suppose some people would be surprised to learn how much information I can tell them about themselves, but it's all built into Netscape and MSIE through JavaScript. The main reason most HTML authors provide this information is to try to awe visitors with thier JavaScript prowess when in reality, these are very simple reference calls. All it really proves is that someone read parts of a JavaScript manual. Big Whoop. |
Color-Shifting Backgrounds |
| You'll also notice that when you loaded this page that the background changed colors rapidly. This technique has been around for a while, but I've never thought that it was that interesting. And while most people steal this code, I wrote mine from scratch. But I won't add it to the rest of my site because there is no good use for it. |
Alert Messages |
| You'll also note that there was a Netscape Alert message that popped up, annoying you with useless information. I have yet to see someone use it effectively. |
Scrollers |
| Most "advanced" pages use some form of animated scroller in the message well of Netscape and MSIE. I'm talking about any text that moves from right to left, scrolling slowly across a ticker-bar of some sort. Be it in Java or JavaScript, I hate them all. Let me count the ways: |
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1) I can read faster than any scroller can scroll. So by putting information into a scroller, my time is being wasted. 2) The scrollers grab your attention with their constant motion when you're trying to concentrate on another part of the page. This is especially annoying when you've already read the text in the scroller. 3) You cannot stop the scroller from scrolling--ever. Most web authors either don't or can't put in a way to stop the scroller. 4) I my opinion, they are aesthetically displeasing and detract from any web-page they're placed on. They add nothing significant to the page itself and it devalues the total worth of the web site. 5) Finally, while it's a programming accomplishment, there are much better uses of programming skill and time. (Such as making your web pages compatible with any browser.)
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| You'll note that instead of a scroller, I placed a clock in the status-bar. This is a particularly nice effect especially when your taskbar is hidden behind the web-browser. However, unlike those nasty scrollers that most people put down there, the timer is temporarily disabled when you wave the mouse over an URL and comes back to life when you leave it. (NOTE: MSIE does not support the onMouseOver or onMouseOut events, so the timer will never stop for you. Sorry! Switch to Netscape.)
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| Frame Abuse |
| Why do people insist on using Frame "because they can?" I'm talking about those people who create a frame to act as a border--and nothing else. Who use a frame to display the title of their web-pages and nothing else. Who clutter up their web-site and use half the viewing area for a logo?
Unlike many HTML authors, I was kind enough to put in my link a "target" value. Many HTML authors who create frames forget to add target="_top" to their HREF links. So the rest of the internet looks like it's trapped inside their pages. In my opinion, Frames should only be used if it makes the site easier to navigate. That's it. Anything beyond that is rarely, if ever, acceptable use.
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| The Evils of Cookies |
| I understand what the original purpose that Netscape and Microsoft had when they created the cookie file (or directory). It was intended to provide an HTML author the ability to customize their website to every visitor. So if Jane likes the blue background, she gets the blue background. If Bob likes the maroon background, he gets the maroon background. It was a clever idea. However, cookies have been abused in ways unimaginable to the programmers of web-pages. Most notable is the Link Exchange. Every time you visit a page that has a banner ad for the Internet Link Exchange, a cookie is sent to your computer. What most people don't know is that the creator of the cookie can ask for the cookie back. So the Link Exchange (LE) can make their cookie a counter, and the next time you see it, LE knows how many times you've seen that advertisement. People are getting statistical data from you and you don't even know it! Most other HTML authors use cookies to tell how many times you've visited, and change one line to say--"You've been here 20 times!". As if I care. While Cookie abuse will most undoubtedly get worse, there are actions you can take:
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1) Netscape users should edit their cookie.txt file in the Netscape directory and remove all the cookies that have been put there without your permission or knowledge. 2) Netscape users should then go to their Netscape directories and type in: attrib +r cookie.txt. This will make your cookie file read-only. You'll never have to worry about people sending and receiving information about you without your knowledge again! 3) MSIE users should go to their Cookie directory, (usually C:\Windows\Cookie) and delete all the files. Unfortunately MSIE users will have to do this each time they visit a site that sends cookies. There's no way to make a directory read-only so that people cannot add files to it. However, they can edit their preferences and put a check next to "Warn before accepting cookies." This will bring up a warning dialog box every time a cookie is sent to you letting you decide if you want to accept it or not.
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| Following those steps will help stop unnecessary Cookie proliferation.
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| Color Abuse |
| People have learned how to use the Color command in the Font tag. While it has many useful purposes, there's really no need to colorize every other word. It bloats up the HTML code, and often adds little to the site. | |
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| What Really Impresses People |
| What do most people look for in a web site? Content. Content should be the number one concern of a web site developer. All the pretty graphics and Javascript code in the world won't keep people interested in viewing your site. After the eye-candy wears off, visitors are left wondering why they're even there. If all your pages provide are links to other sites, there's really nothing for your visitors to look at--so why should they stop by in the first place? Organization. If a web-site is poorly organized, it will be frustrating for people who would like to visit. If you mention the existence of information on your site and people can't find it, you can be sure they won't bother stopping by again. Pages that are aesthetically pleasing. Lower on the totem pole are the aesthetics of a web-page. While not vital, people are attracted to a good-looking web page. Of course, a good looking web-page does not have to be limited to a lot of pretty graphics. Simply a well-designed layout with easy to read text and a non-intrusive background are enough to please most people. (NOTE: I like good, original graphics on web-sites a lot. However, make sure the images are as small as possible in file-size so your guests don't have to wait 20 minutes for the images to load.) Speaking of graphics, don't steal other people's images. When you do, you devalue not only your website, but the website that you stole the image from. If someone visits most of the Ultima pages out there, they'll see the same graphic being used on almost every page. While those graphics look keen, they get old after the 25th time they've been used by someone. New, original artwork is inspiring and makes your pages stand out. Stolen images make your site look stale and boring. So don't steal images--make your own. Pages with no broken links--of any kind. Long are the hours spent by those who strive to make sure their web-pages are always functional. It can become a full-time job, if you provide too many links to outside sources. The happy visitor expects every link on your page to work. Of course every image should load, and every link to all the other pages on your site should work all the time. Your only real trouble begins when you link to someone else's site and they don't inform you that their site no longer exists. It's a tough job, but great web-sites must remain current. Web pages that work with both major web browsers. This has got to be one of the most difficult tasks to perform because MSIE doesn't implement every Javascript tag that Netscape understands which leads to a lot of confusion. Then each browser has its own method of playing music. (Check on my Geocities site and look at the source code on how to use the correct tag for the correct browser.) Through the careful use of JavaScript, you can make your pages work in both browsers. If you have a site that contains frames, try to make your pages available in a Non-Frames format. Many frame-haters will appreciate the respect you give them in their choice to not use frames. A well designed web-site can function just as well with Frames as without frames. Though, the non-frames side may feel a bit clumsy in some instances.
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| Miscellaneous |
| The Evils of "Under Construction" | |
| Under Construction [grin] I'll have more info in a few days. (Yeah, right!)
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