Re: Minimal Browser Capabilities

On Thu, 27 Dec 2001, Tina Marie Holmboe wrote:

have to agree with you in almost every thing you say.  put very
simply.  the browser should be able to read every site regardless of how
fancy it is.

Bob

> On Wed, Dec 26, 2001 at 08:03:31PM -0500, Access Systems wrote:
> 
> > well put, I am mostly in this discussion concerned with maintaining
> > usability to the max number of users but how far back in OS, browser,
> > hardware should we consider supporting.   I can still use my Dos 5.1
> 
>   Ah, technology would be a different matter I think ...
> 
>   I assume - knowing the dangers of doing so - that we can all agree that
>   it is the content that should be accessible [1], and not the technology
>   in itself.
> 
>   I believe - again, knowing the dangers - that we also agree that for
>   the foreseeable future it is HTML and XHTML which will be the main
>   packaging for content at the moment it is delivered to a user-agent.
> 
>   Anything above this basic level - be it CSS, Javascript, Ecmascript
>   Flash or SVG - would be best considered as content enhancement
>   techniques.[2]
> 
>   With this in mind, I would suggest that a 'minimum requirement' would
>   be for a user agent to know how to handle HTML [3] and know how to
>   survive [4] XHTML.
> 
>   The bottom line: a 'minimum requirements' browser shouldn't break
>   content.
>   
> 
> 
>  [1]
>   Accessibility - in my view - is achieved when the user/visitor can
>   partake of the content in such a way that he, she or it can assimilate
>   it after their own capabilities.
> 
>  [2]
>   "Content enhancement" - in my view - are such techniques which when
>   used can make the content more attractive or even more accessible given
>   that support for them exist; whilst at the same time not reducing
>   accessibility when support does *not* exist. 
> 
>  [3]
>   HTML - regardless of version - comes with the built-in magic that
>   an unknown element should, or could, be ignored but the content of
>   it retained.
> 
>  [4]
>   'Survive' is my way of writing 'not blow up'. Even Netscape 4, which
>   is not known for it's excellence in parsing, does this.
> 
> 

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Received on Wednesday, 26 December 2001 20:25:32 UTC