h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is a guide to making impressive-looking HTML pages for people already familiar with the language. Take a look, if you will.
Thanx.

Link to entry: http://www.h2g2.com/A498945

This seems to be quite a good guide, if a little basic.
A couple of points, though: you don't need 'MagicManZach Signing Off' at the bottom, as it'll just get removed by the SubEds. Also, if I were you I'd make the homepage example er... less personal! (surely a contradiction for a homepage, I know). For instance, try "developed buy [email protected]". This might not be necessary, but Guide Entries are supposed to be sort of inpersonal, just in case more info is added by another Researcher later (which to be honest rarely happens).

From an HTML standpoint, all the points you make are valid (I like the HTML Colour Wheel), but bare in mind that advising pagebuilders to use more outlandish fonts may backfire - some people don't even have Comic Sans (which I always think makes things look a bit unprofessional, but that's just personal opinion), and I'm sure you know if you view a page with a font you don't have, your browser will apply the default font (or which ever alternative font the designer has suggested). Maybe you could point this out?

""I highly reccommend that the color..." this could be "it is reccommended that...".

The 'proper use of space' section is also good, but it does suddenly become quite technical for a reader who doesn't know much about HTML coding. Such as: what IS a 'tag'? How do you do 'hoverlinks'? I know that this is for people who are already familiar with the langauge, but it would make it even more accessible to those who aren't. Perhaps you could mention that CSS is the best way (I see you used it) to add great-looking effects to your page, and say what it is and where to learn the basics. Also, as you talk about looking at the source of other pages (a technique I used to get loads of solutions myself!) maybe you could mention how to do it on h2g2 - simply type "test" instead of the "A" in the address of a page e.g. your entry http://www.h2g2.com/test498945.

I can see this entry being very useful for budding HTML designers!

My explanations, rebuttals, and apologies:

Good point with the tagline, I'll take care of that. The e-mails too. I'm fairly sure Comic Sans ships with Windows, but I might be wrong. You're right about the unprofessional bit, but I consider that a case-by-case basis. Advice taken on the default font and third person parts. And the h2g2/test urls, I forgot all about those.

Thanx,
MMZach

Great.

I think it [Comic Sans] ships with Windows too. But you forget: not everyone who has access to the 'net uses Windows! What about the Mac users, Linux and Unix fans, etc. And internet TV, and palmtop operating systems/browsers etc.

True, true. Well, I just finished all those changes...

Then when I ran test about 74 xhtml errors popped up.

So after lots of find-replace, these changes are _finished_.

Now for breakfast.

EXCELLENT! It's lookin' great.

Have a good breakky.

Many thanks.

A very interesting article; with much information that can be absorbed.

However, you proclaim that the article is designed for someone who already has a knowledge of HTML. Where as I would have thought that one with a basic knowledge would have been aware of some of the effects you have utilised in your article.

However, that is not necesarily a criticism, as there is something for anyone starting out with HTML. Which overall makes it a very good article.

Well it agreed with me anyway.

Have a happy new year and good luck with it,
Best Regards
Rhys Tranter

Yeah -- it's intended mainly for the experienced, but I threw in a quick primer to establish one of the more difficult parts.

Cheerz,
MMZach

Ironically, this entry now needs to be changed to use GuideML - HTML is no longer supported on h2g2 - it's slower, and it has a few security holes. Also, GuideML can compensate for browser bugs, where HTML can't.

So it's rewrite time I'm afraid - a shame: it looks a worthwhile entry...

Some HTML is still supported in GuideML pages - though I'm still working out which bits

;^)#

Grr... well, that kinda destroys the whole thing.

::thinks really hard::

I can't see any feasible way to do this.

It does figure, though -- new regimé, new policy...

(That e better have worked.)

And didn't they say they were gonna email us when the place went back up?

Either way, enough rambling. This article is condemned forever. Sorry, guys.

Pardon me -- the HTML appears to be showing up correctly after the conversion. Until the BBC drags me away screaming across the Atlantic, this article is staying as it appears. To hell with the Edited Guide.

How bizzare. A while ago, all the tags were visible and suchlike. And now it works again... And I thought TPTB stayed at home over the weekend... (heh - spot the workaholic).

My guessing is that they've decided to have HTML allowed for existing entries, but have new entries in guideML only - or maybe they've managed to autoconvert HTML entries to guide entries - probably the right decision in my view.

An entry on how to write good HTML is still worthwhile, because h2g2 researchers will still use sites outside of h2g2, and will still need to use HTML on them. Alternatively, you could make it an entry on how to make good webpages. So don't give up just yet...

Actually, to the best of my deduction, they don't allow HTML -- what I did was add GUIDE and /GUIDE tags, and everything else worked itself out. I expect the way they crafted GuideML, it ignores unknown tags, which then overlap into HTML.

Fine by me.

One point.

You say "If they don't have that, it goes to Helvetica, which most (if not all) computers should have."

This is not correct. Only Macintosh computers use Helvetica. Microsoft operating systems use Arial instead. It looks identical to my eye. You should add Arial to your list of fonts, before or after Helvetica.

That's a good point. I'm gettin' my Macs and PCs mixed up again -- it's what my parents get for raising me wrong.

Aaannd... changed.

Speaking of which, this has been in peer review almost five months now... how's this system work again?

-- MMZ

MagicManZach said:
"Speaking of which, this has been in peer review almost five months now... how's this system work again?"

Well, it's pretty much dependent on a Scout deciding that this is one of his/her 3 favorite entries for that month.


Mikey

May I question the point to this article as the world wide web council (W3C) have now introduced the XHTML standard to replace HTML ?

This is true -- but even the HTML 4 standard took quite some time to catch on, and I personally have reservations on whether XHTML will ever enter mainstream usage, given its stricter requirements and loss of ease-of-use.

Although for the record, when it's in circulation, I'll try to write an XHTML Manual.

-- Zach