18 messages in org.w3.www-styleRe: When will CSS rule?
FromSent OnAttachments
Mike WexlerNov 18, 1996 2:15 pm 
Sarra MossoffNov 18, 1996 2:45 pm 
Kim McGalliardNov 18, 1996 3:03 pm 
Chris LilleyNov 18, 1996 3:17 pm 
Carl MorrisNov 18, 1996 7:13 pm 
Steve KnoblockNov 18, 1996 7:43 pm 
Carl MorrisNov 18, 1996 9:28 pm 
andi hindleNov 19, 1996 2:52 am 
Steve KnoblockNov 19, 1996 8:20 am 
Carl MorrisNov 19, 1996 4:24 pm 
Steve KnoblockNov 19, 1996 4:55 pm 
Carl MorrisNov 19, 1996 6:44 pm 
papr...@calum.csclub.uwaterloo.caNov 20, 1996 4:09 am 
Steve KnoblockNov 20, 1996 7:07 am 
papr...@calum.csclub.uwaterloo.caNov 20, 1996 8:43 am 
Dan DelaneyNov 20, 1996 9:13 am 
Carl MorrisNov 20, 1996 3:17 pm 
Gordon BlackstockNov 22, 1996 12:54 pm 
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Subject:Re: When will CSS rule?Actions...
From:andi hindle (and@harlequin.com)
Date:Nov 19, 1996 2:52:00 am
List:org.w3.www-style

Hi

At 17:03 18/11/96 -0600, you wrote:

I'm doing some research on CSS and am interested to find out more about people's opinions on if and how soon CSS will become standard on the web. So a few questions:

Well, here are some opinions -- I would be equally interested in any hard data on answer to these questions, but I suspect that it may be pretty hard to come by!

3. Do you think that when CSS are a standard most web sites will adopt them, or just web sites that are art/style oriented?

4. If most sites do adopt them, will it be immediate, or will it take a year or more for CSS to really become standard?

My suspicion is that the wholesale adoption of style-sheets hinges on how easy they are to use. Take Frames for instance. When Frames first came out, they were pretty rare -- HTML writers for the web then didn't understand Frames and didn't have the time to learn how they worked (I don't mean to start a thread about the validity or otherwise of Frames, here, BTW! ;) ). Then, some HTML editing packages produced Frame Editors -- now it was easy to make Frames, so lots of people did them.

In the case of Java (which you mention in your final paragraph), well, I guess Java was pretty hyped by SUN before it came out as the big new thing on the web. But it's interesting to note that up until really very recently, _most_ java applets on the Web have been 'jumping-beans' style animations. Same learning problem -- but tools like Aimtech's recently-released Jamba may well change that, slowly.

With CSS, I think that people are now beginning to talk more about it : I see a fair number of posts on Webthings lists which start off with statements like 'When we finally get Style Sheets, you'll be able to do this. For now...' I can't really comment on the position of companies like Netscape, but...

5. Do you think the average surfer is going to take the time to learn enough about CSS to override an author's sheet?

I think this is also a usability issue. _If_ the UA can offer an easy-to-use customising interface to allow people to design their own style-sheets and _if_ it's possible to communicate the strengths and uses of style-sheets, then yes. On the other hand -- I would suggest that a lot of people like to see what a given website designer has done in terms of _design_, rather than just looking for information. Style Sheets will potentially give designers a great deal more control over design and layout than is currently possible without compromising the core values of HTML. So I wonder how many surfers will want to override?

Any opinions, facts, reactions would be greatly appreciated.

As I said at the top, these are merely opinions! ;)

Cheers

--&e