Have Indians really lost a taste for good things?
My rant is specifically on the best designed Indiblog. I’d like to warn you about my gripe soon after the nominees were announced, so you may read this with a grain of salt.
Cross browser compatibility: First of all, there is atleast one nominee in this (best designed) category that does not pass a simple cross-browser test. Try it in Mozilla Firefox and you’ll clearly notice a float problem. Watch how the enclosure of a post stops after certain number of lines. Then, we have a sidebar overlap thing going-on. How in the hell did this blog get into this category? Or still, which among the wise jury thought this is good for a nomination?
The Four-Oh-four page: I found that only these two websites (Shutterbug, Turbanhead) have a custom 404 page. All others, including the winning blog do not have it. (For those who do not know what a 404 page is, you might want to see this.) It is interesting to see if sites or blogs have this page because it reflects on the amount of intricate detailing that the designer is willing to go. Hence a measure to check. (Try any site with a URI like http://something.com/xyz123. If it produces a custom page saying that the page you’re looking for does not exist and better still also has links to archive or a search within offering help to look up for content, I’d say that is neat. 404 pages are often humorous and / or witty) Shutterbug has a search bar.
Validating markup: Having taken this much trouble, I thought I’ll notch it up to the next level, and the observations have been interesting: The winner does not pass the markup test. (Go ahead try it yourself.) In the entire list of nominees, only Shutterbug passes markup validation.
I haven’t even warmed-up yet (read: stylesheet markup validation, feed validation, accessibility, aesthetics, color and font sense, styling of form elements, designing search, I can go on..), but if you ask me, the contest stops here and we have a winner right there that nobody bothered to notice. It should have been Shutterbug. Period. It’s not just because Shutterbug validates or that it has a custom 404 page or for that matter it looks the same across popular browsers, but also because, it’s also visually pleasing to look at and has a good juice of the torture test that I was to begin post validation, but that’s not necessary now, for there’s no competition. This is a movabletype blog hacked to the extreme to fit in every shape of the picture (including the panorama).
Initially I thought it was a biased selection of blogs. Now it appears like a conspiracy. First the jury (not all mind you, just some ignorant ones) and then the public who voted. I wonder if they were voting with their toes. (Probably friends ganging up from the region or something and voting mindlessly to choose a winner instead of really looking at the quality and trying a fair judgement.) Ofcourse, one would argue that there was no criteria for ranking specified upfront, in which case, the prosecution rests.
Update: My rant is intended for a better quality of auditing blogs that are nominated under certain categories and still better, nominate blogs with credibility and justification. It was a 10 minute job to verify those three simple things for all the nominated blogs. Don’t say that Indians are pathetic designers by selecting a winner that does not have some of the very basics of a web or blog design, because that’s exactly what you’re doing.
I wouldn’t be suprised if winners were chosen even before the nomination started. Shutterbug is indeed a gem.
Jan 26, 05 at 07:31As a juror - (not ignorant) I nominate blogs I have come across and those I feel are deserving their awards - now - the particular category you talk about - best designed - doesn’t need to mean the best blog there is - it doesn’t need to mean the best standards compliant - atleast - i think that way - if the blog looks good, is easy to read - and has some cool features (i shall not define cool here) I nominate it.
Yes - pro’lly - shutterbug might be the best designed blog there is - so why didn’t you learned folks - better knowing people vote for it?
its all well and good to criticize something after the event - why didnt you folks participate before it started?
Jan 27, 05 at 01:05Ravages: I don’t get you. You’re saying the blog does not have to be the best to win the best designed award?! I’m dumbstruck.
As far as participation goes, I did vote for the one I thought deserved to win. I cannot say for others.
Jan 27, 05 at 10:36Chetan,
As you said correctly, the juror should evaluate the blogs for all technical aspects before it’s nominated. You can’t expect the voters to check on the technical aspects. They just look at the appearance and the presentation.
Jan 27, 05 at 19:09Pray - what else does a *best designed blog* need beyond appearance and presentation?
Also - MadMan’s site has integrated two weblogs, has some features like sliding sidebars, is usable and has some nifty other features.
Jan 27, 05 at 23:46Anybody that thinks only the appearence is the criteria (with no regards to standards) for a best designed award is an amateur (either by choice or by ignorance). An award system that does not appreciate the efforts of those who work with standards loses credibility.
Jan 28, 05 at 11:55I have noticed that you do have a sound understanding of the design backend and not just what you see on the screen. “Working with standards” is something i would agree on, otherwise the Net would be a chaotic place. We need such honest rants to make the system better.
Jan 29, 05 at 04:54Patrix: Thanks.
Jan 29, 05 at 10:11On a serious note, I really want Indibloggies to be a huge success more than ever because International awards like Bloggies have such a narrow width for people from the subcontinent. Indibloggies could provide a grand showcase for the talented individuals in all the categories.
When Indibloggies is not running a contest, it could provide a platform for general awareness about some technical nitty-gritty or literary examples that could improve the Indian blogging fraternity as a whole. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Jan 29, 05 at 10:31Thats a great idea. You should contact Debashish regarding it. Content can be contributed (and edited) by all visiting bloggers.
Jan 30, 05 at 09:50Ony hell knows how my blog got into this category.. i am also stumped…
blog on !!!
Jan 31, 05 at 18:06Pallavi, I’m glad that you take it in the right sense of the subject. This is not a personal dig at any of the contestants, no gripe at any participant or the winner, but to question and challenge the competence and sincerity of the jury in a contest like Indibloggies.
Jan 31, 05 at 21:55Chetan, first it is good that you discussed the parameters for the Best Designed Indiblog category. I would still stay that judging all blogs by same yardstick would be brutal. I remember that you had reservations that your blog was not nominated by a Juror and also that the Juror pointed out that your own blog wasn’t getting displayed properly on Firefox. Do not misunderstand me; it is not a tit-for-tat argument, what I mean is nobody can perhaps claim to be perfect.
Voting is meant to guage the popular blogs and people may not bother whether the nominated blog technically qualifies for the same. While I cannot expect the voters to test all the nominated blogs on the criteria you suggested, it could certainly serve as a guideline for the Jurors who filter the list. Thanks for sharing your thoughts
Feb 1, 05 at 12:34Debashish, this may seem like an overdose of confidence, but my blog renders perfect in Firefox. Anybody that says it does not is probably taking an intentional dig, which doesn’t bother me.
Feb 1, 05 at 12:53Agreed Chetan
I was talking about “that time”. I remember having seen your mail in which you said that you had corrected the flaw (whatever that was, I didn’t see your site in Firefox, it was the juror’s comment). Your mail was addressed to me as well as the juror. As I said, my comment was not meant to point fingers, I am nobody to do so. Thanks.
Feb 1, 05 at 13:29Debashish, thanks for your sincere comments and a go-forward attitude. Highly appreciate it. I would like to believe that my (this) post has helped raised certain awareness among those contestants, jury or in the blogging community who care and would like to improve upon, build upon their existing skills and interest levels.
The flaw btw, wasn’t in the design. I had sent the entry for the wrong category.
Like I’ve said earlier, I’d still like to see Indibloggies reach a status of or close to the bloggies. We as a blog community have such a large pool of knowledge that we can share amongst us in various aspects and help raise the awareness amongst us, while at the same time earn the respect of global blogging community by participation and practising transparency in selection and audit.
I also think that this contest should not be just about popular blogs (that we already know), but to provide a showcase to lesser known but talented professionals or hobbyists who could possibly gain prospective clients or projects from a contest like this, while also providing credibility and recognition on a global scale to a contest like this (and why not when you have international sponsors).
Feb 1, 05 at 15:37