On 5/7/06, Graham Anderson <graham.anderson@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sunday 07 May 2006 14:09, jdd wrote:
I don't see there is really problem with tables, but I don"t like the new layout
Everyone should heed this warning!
I cannot stress enough the importance of leaving the design of an important and busy website to people who have *significant* web design experience. More harm than good will happen if people who obviously have no large or commercial website design experience continue to make arbitrary changes to the design of the opensuse website.
It is a wiki. People who have *significant* web design experience, can join in anytime. But if you look at the history there is quite a small number of people who have done most of the existing work on the wiki, working from a bare skeleton. The design process of a wiki is to make the change, and then review by peers, like we are doing here. Significant structural changes are rare, and the pivotal pages tend towards stability, with a jolt every now and then.
The documentation page layout is now *broken*. The 'Other languages' box now renders *below* the page footer in Firefox and probably on other browsers too.
The documentation page is not broken. The Other Languages box is another matter...
Using tables for layout breaks accepted design principles for a few good reasons. Two of the most important reasons are as follows.
<SNIP comments about tables and usability> All your crticism of tables are totally valid, and there is no dispute. However the old Documentation page had a two-column table as well, and is only modifed. (I have to admit I introduced that table in my layout of the Documantation page last year). I agree that we should replace my use of tables for layout. It is no defence that a lot of wiki including Wikipedia uses them extensively, especially for index and front pages. This will also impact any front page redesign, as the suggestions I have seen use tables extensively. Peter 'Pflodo' Flodin