[LINK] ABR website is browser-phobic

[eric scheid]

On 10/5/11 5:05 PM, "Ash Nallawalla" <ash at melbpc.org.au> wrote:

> "Oh please", indeed.
> 
> I was in "real user" mode in the morning, needing to look up the ABN
> procedure. After seeing a prominent notice that I needed to use another
> browser, I didn't hang around to read every word on the page. I'd have sworn
> in court that I didn't even notice the left hand nav bar. That's how this
> user reacted.

Heh, I had the opposite reaction .. at first I didn't even realise there was
a prominent notice slap bang in the middle of the home page (who reads the
usually self serving waffle taking up front stage on the home page, really?)

My eye was instead immediately attuned to a link styled as visited in the
top right (a few days prior I had followed a google link to the "Search for
ABN" tool), and then to the left-hand nav.

> And it is a stupid thing to say "If you believe your current browser is
> suitable to use, please continue."

Agreed, and as stupid as saying "supports the following browsers" in the
first place. The site generally works, like pretty much most sites, with the
exceptions of small bits which have extra requirements (looks like Java, yes
Java, not Javascript). It is those pages that should call out the
exceptions, at the relevant time.

> [...]
> OK, I have no idea what the Fuel Tax credit is, but a more informative
> message would be helpful.

Again agreed. For a public facing website it really should have a
public-facing-friendly page for the GST Fuel tax credit functionality.
Something that explains, up front, the particular extra software
requirements. The first two links ("Apply for [something]" and "Apply for
[something else]") both produce html pages. The next two links ("Apply for
[whatever]" and "Apply for [seeing the pattern yet?]") both invoke a
different response entirely.

I'd slate them similar to the crime of directly linking to PDF files from
the main nav without telling the user they are PDF files.

That's my calm and rational response to the problem. Doesn't mean they'd
listen to me though.

If however resorting to hyperbole^W^W^W speaking the native language of
politicians is more likely to get the problem addressed ... I'll leave that
to others ;-P

e.