As one who HAS access to html - indeed, I manage a Web site with something
like 500 or 600 pages of it! - I'd like to weigh in for a moment.
Much of the Internet has become a triumph of style over content. I think
most of us regret the direction some sites have taken (visited adobe.com
lately?).
The point of this is that with plain text, you have the following advantages:
1) Readable by ANYONE. WebTV, mainframe, VAX terminal, ANYONE. Not just
those with nice setups, but (say) Colombians using 8086 PCs [not to spread
a stereotype, I just know some people from there who said they are still in
general use]; kids from poor school districts using hand-me-downs that
cannot handle modern browsers; even people who, for whatever reason, use
the Internet through a telephone! or a PalmPilot.
2) EASY TO PRINT. (I know that's all caps, but it's worth screaming about).
3) Never going to be over-imaged and over-formatted to death.
4) Readable when automatically transmitted on newsgroups.
5) No large black areas to waste toner!
So while I won't pretend to be a perfect practitioner - the Chrysler FAQ
which I maintain is packed with "see the Web site for details" - I will say
that the key stuff is still kept up to date and in plain text format.
-- http://www.allpar.com - http://www.toolpack.com/ - http://www.ptcruizer.com
[
FAQ Archive |
Search FAQ Mail Archive |
Authors |
Usenet References
]
[
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000
]
© Copyright The Internet FAQ Consortium, 1997-2000
All rights reserved