Re: LYNX-DEV error recovery for form parsing

[David Combs]

The only way to work this thing is to change the world --
not to make lynx duplicate netscrape's probable tens of millions
of dollars of special hacks for bad html each year, buty
to somehow get the html fixed.

The problem of course is how to avoid pissing off the
admin or writer.  I think we will have more luck
when that person UNDERSTANDS what is happening --
that what? maybe 10% or 1% or something of the html sites
or pages are bad -- have errors easily found via simply
submitting the page to one of those html-checking sites.

If anyone can find out how many people and how much money
is being spent at M$ and NS on JUST these bad-html-look-OK
hacks, that would be good info to start out a message or
conversation with the admin.

Eventually with lynx (and with NS and M$!) one hack is 
going to break a prior hack, and some OLD pages that
DID work won't any more.

If the people UNDERSTAND that, then maybe they'll be
more interested in getting their html "right".

I mean, suppose such an incompatible hack is done by
NS.  Now, please, just how does the admin or author
KNOW what SINGLE thing to fix to make it "ok via NS".

He has to take his state from bad-html to bad-html.  He
cannot submit it to a checking site to find out what to do!

Perhaps the best thing to do for the admins on THIS list
when they get a complaint from one of THEIR customers
trying to get into an bad-html site is, "No can do; they
have to fix it at the site."

And adivise them to write the company president if all else
fails with the www-admin or author.

Or, "use NS for that site".

I agree with the prior post that for a free product like
lynx, where a developer can say "to hell with it" and
not thereby put his family into starvation out on the
street (which IS the case with person at NS or M$),
we simply cannot make lynx code hard to understand.

We will kill lynx -- which is a FAR WORSE situation than
not being able to visit some sites whose authors don't
give a damn whether we can look at it or not (nor BLIND
PEOPLE EITHER).

And we always have the excuse (also the truth) that
there are no paid developers, and no one WANTS to do
this kind of hacking.  End of story.  Use NS or M$.
But get of my back.

That kind of thing.  Life is too short, lynx is hard enough
to read as it is, lets give ourselves a break!  (and
also be good conservationists and keep lynx around
for the next generation!)

Just my opinion.
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