Viewing this Message Board

[Bees Knees]

It looks like the viewing problem that we were having has been fixed to when it was un-broke!

For the message board. I still have a problem with a number of websites where I have to use the left to right scroll bar to view the width of the page. Changing the screen resolution setting from 800 by 600 pixels to 1024 by 768 pixels is the only way to solve that.

Remember, we are old. The kids designing websites these days are younger and have no sympathy.

[Jiggers]

Remember, we are old. The kids designing websites these days are younger and have no sympathy.

And no common sense, nor what we really want and need on these boards.

[Bees Knees]

There is now a "message board" link at the top of the screen for those who don't want to have to click on the "TMI Message Board > Discussion Forums > Main Forum / Tax Discussion" link to refresh the message board.

[Corduroy Frog]

State Links

I also miss the "links" menu on the old format. That was the quickest way I had to access state revenue webpages, also I would frequently use it to access IRS forms and instructions. They may have unintentionally removed the "Links" button, or it may have been intentional. There is some effort keeping current with the various target pages, and TMI certainly doesn't "owe" us this service. In two weeks, no one else has mentioned this, so it might be a non-issue.

[Gary2]

For the message board. I still have a problem with a number of websites where I have to use the left to right scroll bar to view the width of the page. Changing the screen resolution setting from 800 by 600 pixels to 1024 by 768 pixels is the only way to solve that.

Remember, we are old. The kids designing websites these days are younger and have no sympathy.

Putting on my software QA hat, it's more that they're designers and not developers, or haven't had the proper training, or else aren't given the time to do it right. In this case, I don't know whether the issue is with the underlying bulletin board software or whoever deployed it here.

For those interested in the technical details: The page has some embedded style information - the information that controls the overall look, column widths, fonts, etc. Modern web site development puts that into separate files, for easier maintenance, so embedding it with the content is a red flag.

Worse, it uses a hardwired, fixed width for the center content. While there are arguments for this approach for sites that need artistic appeal, more often it gets chosen because it's easier - it's a beginner's approach. For a site where the written content dominates, there should be a fluid approach, where the primary column shrinks or expands to fill the available width, but that takes more expertise.

[thomtax]

Putting on my software QA hat, it's more that they're designers and not developers, or haven't had the proper training, or else aren't given the time to do it right. In this case, I don't know whether the issue is with the underlying bulletin board software or whoever deployed it here.

For those interested in the technical details: The page has some embedded style information - the information that controls the overall look, column widths, fonts, etc. Modern web site development puts that into separate files, for easier maintenance, so embedding it with the content is a red flag.

Worse, it uses a hardwired, fixed width for the center content. While there are arguments for this approach for sites that need artistic appeal, more often it gets chosen because it's easier - it's a beginner's approach. For a site where the written content dominates, there should be a fluid approach, where the primary column shrinks or expands to fill the available width, but that takes more expertise.

I suppose now that you have called them beginners and incompetent, that you would like to kick their dog also.

[Edsel]

Let it Be

Thom, I know how you feel about a post like this. Some of us occasionally demonstrate a "superiority complex" and it is not particularly attractive. There is always the possibility that the post was merely trying to be informative.

The TMI people will read through this exalted perspective and if anything is worthwhile, they will make a note of it.

[Gary2]

I apologize if there was any offense. My expectation is that the web site developers probably don't read this forum, so my intent was to inform people who may be in a position of hiring such developers (whether contributors or TTB staff) of some common issues.

[taxea]

Why are they trying to fix something that isn't broke?

Who do they think they are, the government?

To make sure we are paying attention?