Mac Musings

More About What We Hate on the Web

Daniel Knight - 2002.05.30 -

Several readers wrote to share their thoughts on annoying Web stuff.

From Eric Strobel

You forgot to mention the annoying "feature" on MacCentral where it keeps redrawing the page every few minutes. I like to go to a site and open all the pages from that site that I'm going to read. MacCentral will really bring your browser to its knees if you've opened 7 articles and two minutes later, BANG!, they all decide to redraw. And doesn't it just hack you off when you're 2/3 done reading an article and BANG!, it disappears, and when it redraws, you're back at the beginning. I've complained to them ever since they got taken over by Macworld and this annoyance started, but I've gotten nowhere. Too bad one can't have defensive JavaScripts to prevent unwanted redraws, pop-up/under/after windows and the like.

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You can lead an idiot to knowledge, but you can't make him think...

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I guess I haven't stayed on any MacCentral page long enough to see this. Forced refresh is just another way to inflate the hit counter and fool yourself that you're sites more popular than it is. BTW, nice tagline. dk

From Brutno

RE: Toward a Less Annoying Web/Lack of Underlined Links.

I know this is not a major issue, but I am sure that colorblind people would appreciate underlining (versus color alone) to signify links, as often times the difference in contrast between colors is not easily seen.

That being said, I agree with the rest of your conclusions. I am also constantly impressed by the general design of your site, its legibility, and the speed at which it loads.

Cheers

You raise a good point, one we addressed last year after hearing from a colorblind visitor. We made some adjustements to the link colors we use on Low End Mac, which necessitated changing some background colors, which resulted in a site that works even better on grayscale displays and for colorblind users than it did before. We also set our style sheet to underline link when the mouse is over them, although not all browsers support this feature. dk

From Russ Weitz

Yes, I agree that you should have asked about publication dates. Much of my Web surfing is for information and I want to know if I'm getting current stuff or not. I'd rather know when an article was written than by who.

I think accountability calls for both, but a time stamp sure helps you understand the context of a piece. dk

From Jim Corti

Nice article.

I just hit one site, Nagels, that violated every extreme item you mentioned. I gave them your link to peruse. Hope it does some good.

Thanks, I think your story was one of the few items I really value in the past months.

Thanks again,
Jim Corti on a low end Mac.

Not my only Mac, but this is my cherised Rev B crammed iMac on an island in the Indian Ocean.

(Please write an article on how to change the HD on this dude.)

Assuming I've linked to the right site, I'll have to take your word for it. I never did master my ancestral tongue (the site is in Dutch). It looks particularly bad in iCab, but not as bad in IE 5.1.

As for upgrading your iMac, I've been inside my Rev. B several times, but never that far inside. If I ever do replace the drive, I'll be sure to photograph and document it on Low End Mac. Until then, Macworld has a very good article on upgrading an iMac. dk