Yo! Made a website? Then listen up!

[thistlechaser]

I am going to use http://kyoh.monkey-pirate.com/ as an example in this rant, but only because it is the latest one I've seen doing this. I do not know the person who designed or maintains that site, and I'm not commenting on the site's content.

Can someone, anyone, tell me what the hell is up with this new trend in web design? Making the side and bottom scroll bars the same color as the page itself, thus rendering them invisible? I'd like to think that it's done by mistake (how can it be anything but an error?), but it's showing up more and more on websites. If you cannot see the bar, you cannot click on it. If you find it through blind clicking, then move your pointer away, you have to hunt for it again! And without being able to see how big it is, how can you judge how long the page is? (Yes, using your arrow keys to scroll is an option, but should site visitors be forced to use them? No.)

If this is something people are doing on purpose, then they need their heads knocked into walls. Listen up: In web design, style does not trump function! If you think it's "cool" or "clever" or "keen" to make your damned scroll bar invisible, then think again! Your priorities as a web designer should be for easy and clear navigation *before* using any pretty/k00l/"wonderful new tricks" you've seen elsewhere.

Grrr.

---

In other news, they couldn't put the new/repaired tire on my car at lunch today. They're too busy. Grr. I left the tire with them, then have to go back tonight for them to put it on. If the old one can be fixed, that is. Otherwise I'll need to buy a new one.

It feels odd telling people "Well, I have my car, but he has the tire". Makes me feel like I'm going through a messy divorce.

Comments

[quasilemur.livejournal.com]

If you knew how to change a tire, you could be driving to the Gay Porn store right now. That, and as previously discussed, it would somehow allow you to survive nuclear holocaust and ogle mutant bikers in assless chaps.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

But if I changed my own tire, my hands would get dirty! I was helpful last night and picked up the hubcap for the AAA guy, and I got black all over me! That's not the type of dirty I like...

[phoenixtoashes.livejournal.com]

You can always clean your hands after, though..

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*whine* But I don't want to get them dirty to begin with! I'd rather pay some guy who likes to get dirty to do it.

:)

[phoenixtoashes.livejournal.com]

And if you get a flat when nowhere near a payphone or with any other means to call for someone to do the job for you? :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's why they make cell phones! Never leave home without it. ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/phoenix_rising_/]

And if your cell's dead?

[phoenixtoashes.livejournal.com]

Gaah...logged in as the wrong person. The comment still stands, however.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Well, tha'ts what the Bat Signal is for, right? ;)

[phoenixtoashes.livejournal.com]

*blinks* Your car's big enough for a Bat Signal? Cool.

[kaiz.livejournal.com]

Re. shitty website design

I have no clue what's up with any of this recent "style over accessibility" crap. (Yeah, it's a huge pet peeve of mine, could you tell?)

What the hell is the point of making a website if the reader must save the page to disk and then edit it in order to read your fiction/essay/blog?

I can't stand these itty bitty little fonts, or the tiny boxes--oh so artfully displayed against a huge graphic of something irrelevant, of course--that the fic appears in when you click a link, or every damn link opening up a new frelling page, or being forced to fire up some browser that I loathe just to see *anything* on the damned site.

I won't even get into the scary background/foreground combinations.

Your priorities as a web designer should be for easy and clear navigation *before* using any pretty/k00l/"wonderful new tricks" you've seen elsewhere.

Amen, sister.

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

Your tires should be under warranty. Maybe you should look into yours, it doesn't seem right that you replace a tire out of pocket after a few weeks' use.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I pondered that, but would running over a nail be covered? (The tire guy today found the hole. Unsurprisingly, the AAA guy and I didn't last night -- looking at a black tire in the dark.) Seems more like that'd be an "act of god" sort of thing...

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

You know what? I'm completely not sure. *flees!*

(Also, I finally visited that link you mentioned as the illustration of bad design - yikes! How very, very wrong. I wouldn't have even thought to scroll down if I hadn't known specifically to do so. Though what I find more annoying are the ones set up so that you can't use the scroll wheelie on the mouse, but actually have to click the up and down arrows. Evil evil e-ville! (Or is it a worse sign that I originally typed 'lick the up and down arrows'?))

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

(Or is it a worse sign that I originally typed 'lick the up and down arrows'?))

But think how clean your keyboard would be if you did that!

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

The thought of licking my keyboard makes me ill. X_X

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hm. Maybe if you poured chocolate syrup or honey or something onto it first?

;)

[sillysophia.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is annoying. I sometimes color the scrollbars, but they're visible. Mostly, my pet peeve is tiny chromeless windows for huge sites. Yes, let's cram 2 years worth of website into an area of 500 pixels. Bleah.

[triplem.livejournal.com]

Heh. The 'in' thing on a message board I sometimes visit is invisible text: people make their text the same color as the background, so you have to highlight it to see what they're saying.

Then there's the ultra-glaring-fuzzy-glowy fonts that are near impossible to read, which you have to highlight. And when you ask them to change it for the sake of courtesy, they just say "But I think it's cool! Just highlight it."

Then there's the Wingding, Greek, and other fonts that are in tiny or unrecognizeable characters, so you have to copy and paste them into Notepad to be able to read them. Silly stupid stuff.

Maybe a game of playing-dumb-until-they-change-it-to-make-you-leave-them-alone might do it. I haven't tried it, though, so I don't know.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heh! Unfortunately, that idea might work. Play dumb: beat them at their own game?

[phoenixtoashes.livejournal.com]

I prefer to avoid dumb people. Otherwise I have to supress this urge to find a way to have 'em neutered, you see.. :)

It's my opinion that stupid people should not be allowed to breed.