http://germworks.net/blog/2007/09/18/how-to-make-the-perfect-web-cake/

comments etc most welcome

Do note, though, that I’m only arguing against a quasi-religious dedication to web standards without any consideration for other fundamental development needs: the kind of site which might provide a rigidly standards-based development by using deeply nested absolutely positioned div tags, br elements for positioning, and a complete lack of semantic elements.

It’s important to note that web standards are ultimately only a tiny part of what makes a website functionally exceptional.

Basically, if there is a sound and testable justification for not violating web standards which provides benefit to the user, it is an appropriate activity. Otherwise, no — - it’s not acceptable.

Seriously if the cake metaphor helps people understand the different areas of the web that is the main thing. What we need to do now is figer which cake ingredients are the web ingredients…

there will alway be the basic ingredients when it come to creating a cake and they cannot vary too much else the thing will end up being something other than a cake.

Agree totally and I think most people do

I don’t think there is a perfect cake recipe (either metaphorically or actually) — - instead, there are great varieties in the tastes and needs of those who will be consuming the cake.

I agree about the varieties, but the basics must remain basically the same, regardless of tastes, consumer needs, or recipe add-ons. To again use the well-known Jermayn Parker cake metaphor (© 2007, J. Parker), there will alway be the basic ingredients when it come to creating a cake and they cannot vary too much else the thing will end up being something other than a cake.

Authorship, as it happens, is all that is legally required in order to claim copyright. Registration of copyright is only helpful in terms of being able to defend your copyright more easily in cases of legal infringement. The biggest challenge with unregistered copyright is in proving your original work!

I definitely agree that if what you do is swap the salt and sugar, you’re going to end up with a lousy cake. But adding an extra pinch of salt might solve a problem.

I don’t think there is a perfect cake recipe (either metaphorically or actually) — - instead, there are great varieties in the tastes and needs of those who will be consuming the cake. You need to create a cake which is best for your consumers, not an abstractly idealized pastry.

I’m enjoying this metaphor, by the way. Getting to use the phrase “abstractly idealized pastry” isn’t an every day occasion. ;)

The cake metaphor is a good one. The cake standards (the recipe, the protocol) are a pinch of salt to bring out flavor (yes, that’s what the salt is for in a cake), and cup of sugar to make it sweet. Without the standard we may swap those two (and probably provide a damn good argument for doing so). But, really, swap the two and what do you get? A cake that looks good but tastes like shit. I think we should all work on writing the cake recipe, enhancing the cake recipe, then sticking to it once perfected; one and all.

Regarding too much accessibility. I agree there is such a thing and I’d like to offer this article on the subject: Avoiding Extreme Accessibility.

Nice article, Joe. Very thought provoking.

I can see what you’re saying, of course: you need to spend time making certain that your web site is a quality resource, or all the accessibility in the world just means you’re making sure people can access out of date information. Not so valuable, on the whole, compared with keeping the information up to date.

There’s a point where you have to compromise; but 5% is too high a price for me to pay.

what’s “too much accessibility”, after all?

Given that a cake recipe is about proportions, I’d say it means spending too much time looking at accessibility issues, and not enough time writing good quality content or designing an aesthetically attractive and intuitively interface.

That’s the problem I have with one of my websites - yes, I could improve the accessibility of it further, which would help maybe 5% of the site’s users at the absolute most - but in doing so, something else would have to give, which would probably mean the content would go out of date more, which would hinder a much higher proportion of users.