Posted by Bone Ur on 12/09/07 07:13

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:52:13
GMT Ed Mullen scribed:

>> W3Schools provides relatively good tutorials, but they're full of
>> inaccuracies.
>> Consequently, they're not bad to be introduced to the matter, but
>> they're really bad as *reference* documents.
>>
>> The good references are the W3C standards.
>>
>
> Except that they are nigh on impenetrable by ordinary folk. Or even
> well-versed folk. A publication of standards is a great citation in
> an argument but it is a terribly bad reference on how to do anything.
> If all someone wants to do is get their boat out of their dock safely,
> do not send them to the Coast Guard specs on boating safety. It won't
> help - at all.
>
> Likewise, if all someone wants to do is learn how to wash their car in
> an eco-friendly way, don't send them to a page on how to formulate
> detergents. They don't want that. It won't help them. All it will
> do is frustrate them and make you seem like an iconoclastic asshole.

I, er, understand your point and concur in those areas where it is most
pertinent, but I think there is some leeway to be had in this general
scope. Outside of the very, very considerable help I've received here,
my only source of knowledge with respect to css were the w3c
specifications and the examples I contrived based upon them. The same
is pretty much true for html, although I did initially examine "foreign"
hypertext documents to get the "gist" of html authoring after playing
around with Frontpage a bit. _Some_ of the specs are very readable and
enlightening; some are not. It would only be fair to say that they are
not a total loss even to a newbie.

> So, yeah, w3chools is flawed. Ok. But it is helpful in a basic way.
> And when the user graduates from the basics you all can guide them
> into the next level of enlightenment.
>
> In the meantime? Provide a good (simple) alternative.

Can't comment on w3schools or htmldog or any of that because I've never
tried them. Some are undoubtedly beneficial for initial learning, but
IMO nothing replaces the ol' "Sweat of the brow" work-ethic of studying
the specs and trying things out directly for yourself.

--
Bone Ur
Cavemen have formidable pheromones.

[Back to original message]