HTML sucks

The Creative Director at work asked my (for the 30th time) why HTML sucks and why doesn't everyone move to flash based sites. Loaded question, hyperbole, call it what you will...it's still something I have to deal with everyday. Designers demanding pixel perfect web pages with fonts and graphics that look the same everywhere.

Now that you have gotten your uncontrollable laughter under control...

I gave him the standard answers. You know, the ones about how HTML was never designed as a presentation markup, only a content markup and blah blah blah. Nothing he wanted to hear.

Next I had to lay into flash. Now, while flash has it's purposes, it totally breaks when you want to do an entire "site" in flash. Saw what you will, I haven't seen anyone do it yet. Of course, I'm not looking, but that is so far beside the point that I still don't care.

Anyway, so now I'm getting to the guts of the new site I'm working on. On the surface it seems like a fairly clean design, but it requires a ton of tables to do the layout. I can't go full on CSS-P because there is still a large Netscape 4 contingent out there flipping me the bird and saying, "fuck no I'm not going to switch to a browser that isn't broken because this is where all my bookmarks are!"

Yeah, well I've got news for you. All you bookmarks point to 404 Page Not Found errors because they are so friggin' old! Switch already! I don't care to what. Netscape 6 or IE 5.5 for windows. Both can import your bookmarks. I promise.

So anyway, I have this nice looking site that is heavy as a lead brick because of roll overs, and drop down dhtml menus, and text that should be in <h2> tags but are graphics instead. There are 20 (count them...20) menu items in 4 drop down menus. Luckily only the 4 drop downs have roll over states.

ARGH!