The Web Standards dimension is experiencing some sort of wobble warp that's pushing it into the forefront of blogs, forums and the news.
An Angry Fix, by Jeff Zeldman brought to our attention the case of Björn Hörmann leaving W3C's QA Development. (That's Quality Assurance Development, for those unfamiliar with the term.) Hörmann, who has chosen to "discontinue my participation" writes:
"I believe for our society to progress it's essential that our culture, our knowledge, and our society itself are as accessible as possible to everyone; web standards are how we choose to achieve this on the World Wide Web, and for us to communicate, especially if we have special needs or novel ideas about information access, it depends on compliance to web standards. With this in mind I became interested in assuring standards compliance on the Web and involved in the development of tools meant to help in this respect at the World Wide Web Consortium seven years ago."
QA Engineers are the most disciplined people I've ever met or worked with. They get to the root of a project by first determing it's Soul. From there, they devise ways to make sure that Soul flourishes, while remaining intact and true to Its original birth code - no matter what's thrown at it, why or for how much money. Zeldman adds,
"Truth be told, we and our practical concerns never drove the organization. But after ordinary designers and developers spent nearly a decade selling web standards to browser makers and developing best practices around accessibility and semantics, one hoped the W3C might realize that there was value in occasionally consulting its user base. Alas, the organization appears unconcerned with our needs and uninterested in tapping our experience and insights. It remains a closed, a one-way system."
Since 1995, when I took my first steps into the Internet, I thought to myself, "What an amazing opportunity to unite the entire planet because we now have a way to communicate with each other that's free and accesssible." Learning how to communicate with each other has been challenging but not impossible. The success and reputation of Cre8asiteforums is one example of how it can be done. I had always believed that what would make the Internet GREAT was to make it work for everybody who chooses to access it. This is not how it played out.
"Are we in danger of using standards as a means of limiting the use of the web to share your thoughts and ideas, instead of using standards as a means to make it easier to access anything from anyone?"
Meanwhile, someone has spotted a beta Microsoft web site design that doesn't render at all in Firefox. This discussion asks, "But more seriously, is this where the internet is supposed to be heading? Does Microsoft expect everyone to start making websites unusable on purpose?"
Questioning continues with Google Webmaster Guidelines: Do as I say and not as I do?. This discussion points to another giant, Google, and its guidelines. The complaint is that Google is too forgiving of sites that don't validate properly, even though it insists that webmasters follow web standards if they want their site indexed.
Like I said. Something's in the air. Internet designers needed some sort of standards as a foundation because we needed something we could all understand and use together.
Each developer is bringing their own set of requirements to the table. They come from all over the world, representing their stake in it. We needed some sort of unifying cord that would allow advancement, development and creativity, yet still enable flawless flows of information and ease of usage for anyone wishing to use an Internet-based creation.
Unfortunatley, some people kept talking over each other. Once the idea of competition enters the picture, or a "mine is better than your's" consciousness, the result is mutiny. Not that much unlike how humans have run the planet all along.
"The Internet world is getting increasingly complex with different browsers and different devices, from desktops to cellphones, being used. A website that performs well with one browser/device combination may 'break' in another. Here you can get feedback from our members on how your website will appear to others."
This blog is already hot. The quality of content, and inspection into his topic, make this a quick, worthy addition to your blog stockpile.
:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 7/24/2006 01:24:00 PM
Kim is a Member of the Usability Professionals
Association
About Kim's Web Site Usability Reviews
"This report exceeded my expectations. After reading it a
few times, I went through and highlighted those parts of your actionable
advice that I want to implement right away... I ended up highlighting
most of the report. Stellar job. I won't hesitate to recommend you
to one of my own clients." -- Andy
Hagans of AndyHagans.com
"I have implemented the most obvious changes and I suppose the fact that we've seen an immediate increase
in sales/conversions is no coincidence. I'd highly recommend your service to anyone running a serious web based business."
-- Steve Clay, Plumeriabay.com
"As soon as we get our hands on one of her usability
studies, my clients and I have a better understanding of what needs
to be done with their sites to make them the best they can be from their
site visitors' perspective."
-- Jill Whalen,
HighRankings.com
::
Cre8pc on Web Site Usability and Holistic SEO :: 
