[LINK] Counter-productive bells and whistles

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Oct 29, 2001 at 01:01:27PM +1100, Roger Clarke wrote:
> Re the increasing prevalence of web-sites to accidentally preclude 
> access by all manner of users who aren't using precisely the browser 
> version and config that the naive designer thought everybody used ...

the latest in the australian hall of shame for websites is the
hoyts.com.au site.

until a few weeks ago it was a fairly simple plain html site that worked
in any browser. it was hosted on an apache + mod_perl server. it had
a reasonable design, and was simple to use and navigate. it wasn't
perfect, but it worked...which is a lot more than can be said for the
"new and improved" replacement site.

now, it's been moved to an NT/IIS/ASP server (an excellent decision
in the wake of Code Red and Nimda, huh?), requires internet explorer,
javascript, and frames. the new site is clumsy and awkward to use,
demonstrates abysmal design sense, and has lost several important &
useful features (the ability to bookmark the search page for your local
cinema; and a one-page printable listing of all movies and times,
including a brief synopsis of each movie, at a given cinema on a given
day)

my theory is that they got suckered by some slick salesman/consultant
(who, as it happens can't even make their own site work - it's flash
only and has broken javascript code appearing in the text of the main
page).

craig

-- 
craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>

Fabricati Diem, PVNC.
 -- motto of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch