Heard on and about the Web

Does anybody know what this means? I don't.

The following candid comments are taken from documents on the World Wide Web, as posted by their respective authors. A few have since been removed from the locations noted. None of the following comments is taken from personal e-mail, or from Usenet news postings.

White Hats Amid the Fog

"Out on the HTML battlefield, the Geneva Conventions on the Conduct of Hypertext are broken every day and the fog of war enshrouds browsers, servers, and authors. The Usenet newsgroup comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html (c.i.w.a.h.) offers eloquent testimony to this state of affairs (well, sometimes eloquent). Traffic is running at a couple hundred messages a day, from confused newbies, puzzled journeymen, hucksters of new and often dubious products, HTML specialists looking for work, and those looking to hire them. Few correspondents have bothered to read anything at all about HTML; the same questions are asked over and over again; often the answers given are incomplete or wrong. But it's a good place to monitor reports of problems with new versions of browsers and to see what new effects authors are striving for.

"Among this chaos a few good guys dispense sensible and technically accurate advice. Look for the names of Alan Flavell, Arjun Ray, and Warren Steel, for example. They are often flamed as "HTML purists" but in fact they are keeping tabs on how extensions to HTML are implemented and how one can construct useful and interoperable workarounds to existing problems."

Comments about my Hints for Web Authors:

Hints for Web Authors - "An excellent essay on some of the fundamental principles of effective HTML design. This is highly recommended reading for HTML authors of all levels of expertise -- it covers important concepts that must be understood before one can progress as an HTML author."

Warren Steel's Hints for Web Authors. "Solid advice from an experienced amateur (as distinct from a jaded professional), who values content over glitz. If you are going to read only one of these, start with this one."

Hints for Web Authors, by Warren Steel - "Short yet insightful historical analysis of conventional vs. Web publishing, Hints for Web Authors is replete with solid recommendations on how to succeed with the latter, including a few pragmatic suggestions mixed in there for good measure, '...in hopes that others may find 'em useful.'"

Hints for Web Authors "Outstanding! This page has great advice on Web page content and design and should be required reading for all HTML authors. I wish that I had seen this page when I first started!"

I recommend that you study at least the following short guide before you publish your first web page: Warren Steel, Hints for Web Authors - a nice summary of the basic principles of page design.

Hints for Web Authors by Warren Steel is one of the most comprehensive articles I have seen yet, on web development. If you are trying to become a professional web author - read this first!

Hints for Web Authors - Warren Steel's excellent introduction to Web style is ideal for beginners. It gives practical guidance on the most common design issues without overwhelming readers with too many technical details. It is also far shorter than most of the Web style guides available.

Hints for Web Authors - "A well written piece by Warren Steel, a website manager at the University of Mississippi. It lays out in easy to understand terms what HTML can and can't do. This is an outstanding document, with hyperlinks to detailed information and examples."

What's wrong with the <Font> element? - "Another outstanding piece by Warren Steel, a website manager at the University of Mississippi. Special font commands, unlike many other HTML tags, don't 'degrade gracefully.' Everyone thinking about using the <font> tag should read this first."

Warren Steel's HTML Authoring Tips - "This is the kind of resource page that every beginner ought to read before putting up her first WWW page. It deals with issues such as what goes into a WWW page, a little bit on what makes good organization, and something about style."

"For 'the thinking person's approach to HTML,' the hints and discussion by Abigail, Michael Kelsey, Sunil Mishra, Alan Flavell and Warren Steel are all very highly recommended."

Warren Steel's Hints for Web Authors - "Not a tutorial, but a useful discussion of some issues in Web authoring, including some information on HTML 3.0."

Hints for Web Authors: The title of this page sums up it's [sic] content. Although technical topics are addressed, the author has chosen to define some terms and provides links to sources he cited as well as definitions of the HTML standard. A bit dry, but has good content.

Hints for Web Authors - "This excellent piece by Warren Steel has advice for beginners, experts, and everyone in between."

"Vorschläge von Warren Steel dazu, wie man HTML schreiben soll (Server gelegentlich sehr langsam. Paper nicht sooo nützlich, da deutlich auf neuere Entwicklungen von HTML ausgerichtet)"

Hints for Web Authors av Warren Steel, en vältalig essä över hur man bäst lever upp till principen att HTML är ett content markup language; och inte ett layout-språk.

Hints for Web Authors - Vad varje HTML-makare borde veta. Insiktsfull sida. Fler borde läsa denna sida.

Brief endorsements:

Hints for Web Authors - "I commend this view by Warren Steel."

Hints for Web Authors by Warren Steel - "More than hints; this is really a good practical summary."

"A rather long but quite thorough piece, Hints for Web Authors, is a fine work by someone who 'gets it.'"

Hints for Web Authors - "An excellent page from Dr. Warren Steel. Pay close attention to his cardinal rules! I completely agree."

Hints for Web Authors - Plein de conseils pleins de bon sens...

"Dr. Warren Steel has prepared a very helpful set of guidelines, Hints for Web Authors."

Last modified 26 January 2015
[ Warren Steel | Hints for Web Authors ]