Comments on: There Are Only Tradeoffs

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 27 Feb 2004 01:59:38 +0000

Stumbled on the original blog.
Could not agree more.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 28 Jan 2004 16:52:34 +0000

Without the passion that drives both the debate and design, I think the web would be a pretty boring place to be. The clichés are true: you can’t please everyone. Strive to please yourself, your client, and your core audience (to a satisfactory extent, at least), and you’ve done your job. And if you can answer the question why, yet remain open to trying new ideas and to accepting a better solution when it comes along, so much the better.
The best debates are really dialogs in which we can explore the current state of affairs, discuss alternate means of working within existing confines, and dream about what things may be like in the future. If our shared vision is to inspire passion (isn’t the flipside of loathing usually passion for an alternative?), then we truly elevate the art — and I mean art, rather than business — of web design.
P.S. — Perhaps you meant “hacked vs. unhacked CSS”?

By: Masisaki

Masisaki — Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:01:38 +0000

SPAM lol

By: Faruk Ates

Faruk Ates — Mon, 26 Jan 2004 15:15:20 +0000

I love this entry of yours, Dan. It lightly touches the philosophical debate about choice, opinions and differences, and that’s one of my favorite things to philosophize about. ^_^
I agree wholeheartedly with Dan’s entry and the first 4 comments. They explain it so well, so nicely. If only people outside of the Webdevelopment area would take a moment, drink a beer or soda and think about these things for a while. See the GOOD aspects of a heated discussion, and don’t get riled up or frustrated. People will always have differing opinions, it’s what makes us people, and it’s what has made us come this far in the universe. If it weren’t for ideas sparked during discussions, we wouldn’t be anywhere near this technologically advanced right now. So be thankful, the next time someone calls you a “stupid tit!” ( ;) ) during a debate, only because you don’t agree with him/her. ^_^

By: mark rushworth

mark rushworth — Mon, 26 Jan 2004 12:16:38 +0000

I Agree, i am a regular poster on alt.html and alt-design.graphics where the 'codies' defend their stringent design ethics - whereas i like to break the mold and try something new, even if it isnt compatible with netscape 2.0! :) web design leeds

By: Keith

Keith — Sun, 25 Jan 2004 22:23:01 +0000

This is one of the things that makes designing for the Web so fun, and so different from other design disciplines, like graphic design for example.
No matter what you decided to go with ultimately the user can override just about everything you do. Sure it’s a challenge, but a good one and one that allows for lots of flex and lots of creative thinking.
There usually are many ways of getting a Web design problem solved and as I often say — there is no such thing as a perfect Web site.

By: amon-re

amon-re — Sun, 25 Jan 2004 21:55:46 +0000

Where’s the closing ” ? :)

By: yafujifide

yafujifide — Sun, 25 Jan 2004 20:04:07 +0000

hacky.
not hackful.

By: Dan Cederholm

Dan Cederholm — Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:37:58 +0000

I agree — that debate is very important. Out of the debate comes the ability to better make your own choices.
I suppose it’s as necessary to have people on either side of the fence, as it is to have people that make informed decisions based on opposite viewpoints :-)

By: Colly

Colly — Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:36:51 +0000

‘Feather’ is spot on. Whilst we can probably expect a set of absolute rules for web building at some point in the future, currently the cross platform/browser issues have caused developers of all levels to exchange dialogue about every quirk, and in turn suggest how we move forward, and which methods become standards.
The industry has been quick to make sense of it’s obstacles, to attack them head on, without being too dictatorial about what to do. With this in mind, I hope that collectively we don’t jump for blanket ‘fixed not liquid’, or ‘pixels not ems’ just yet. Lets keep exploring for a while…