Thanks for the notice on HELM Martin.
I know this lies outside your remit and does not directly concern the
quality of the site content, but I must openly ask: will English Heritage
ever design a web site in valid HTML? Will it ever produce a site that
can be accessed by other browsers? Ever?
The recently launched HELM website (http://www.helm.org.uk/) does not
validate against the W3C specifications: not only is it invalid, but it is
totally inaccessible to browsers other than Internet Explorer -- I've
tested it against Opera, Mozilla (Netscape) and Konqueror; nothing except:
Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server error '80040e14'
Line 1: Incorrect syntax near '='.
/dbControl.asp, line 119
I am amazed that EH continues to ignore the simplicities of valid HTML:
try the main site http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ in any browser other
than IE -- appalling.
EH's own 'GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH HERITAGE WEB DESIGN' contains some
relevant pointers for the design of external facing web sites; here's a
few which appear to have been overlooked:
- Browser-specific HTML/scripting should be avoided
- Remember at all times that there are many platforms/
browsers other than the one you use for viewing your development
- Test pages on a range of browsers, in particular: Internet Explorer
5.5 and Netscape Navigator on both PC and Mac platforms
I'm flagging this openly in SMR Forum and FISH Technical because this
issue seriously and directly affects the exchange and presentation of
heritage information to the wider professional and public communities. It
is very apparent that EH will continue to create inaccessible sites unless
publicly called on the fact. A little effort on the part of the designers
will allow EH to share information with a wider user base; I hope HELM
will be one of the first sites to join club.
In frustration,
Tyler
--
Dr Tyler Bell
Technical Director
Oxford ArchDigital Ltd.
http://oxarchdigital.com
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