Re: LYNX-DEV problem with URL http://wbs.net

[Andrew Kuchling]

> Has anyone else used a WBS chat room?  Is there any reason why lynx couldn't
> handle it?  (assuming pictures of yourself aren't mandatory...)

        I just took a look at the site, and I think making it usable
from Lynx would not be terribly difficult.  The major problem is that
the site uses multiple submit buttons inside forms, and each submit
button does a different thing.  That isn't incorrect or anything, (in
fact it's much nicer for Lynx users than using a server-side imagemap)
but none of these submit buttons have the VALUE attribute set, so Lynx
shows them as:

   [IMAGE]-Submit
   Travel
   [IMAGE]-Submit
   Business
   [IMAGE]-Submit
   Technology

Add a VALUE="*" and things look nicer.  Since they don't seem to be
using the buttons as imagemaps (a bad Netscapism, IMHO) their CGI
scripts probably don't actually care what the value is; the scripts
probably just check if the button's name is present and ignore its
value.  If the <BR> after each <INPUT TYPE=IMAGE> could be
conditionally removed, you'd get a nice little menu that looked like:

   * Community
   * Entertainment
   * Travel
   * Business

The site offers a non-framed version, and I can get to a chat room,
and it looks like submitting a comment will work (though I didn't try
it, having nothing to say.)  So I think an hour or two spent adding
cunningly chosen VALUE="<whatever>" tags would make the site quite
Lynx-friendly.  Whether WBS cares enough about Lynx users to make
those fixes is up to them, though I certainly hope they'll do it.

> > From: WebChat Broadcasting System <address@hidden>
> > Unfortunately, WBS is so graphically oriented it no longer supports 
> > Lynx.  We strongly recommend Netscape 3.0 for your WBS and all 
> > other internet needs.
        
        ...which is of little help to the visually impaired who must
use Lynx with a screen reader, or those on platforms that Netscape
hasn't deigned to support...


        Andrew Kuchling
        address@hidden
        http://www.magnet.com/~amk/
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