CSS for XXX site design?

[ronnie]

I totally agree to the advantages of CSS, but calling most webmasters Lazy is not always the correct answer.

I dont think there is any defending needed.

When I started I never heard that CSS was better and why, so of course I learned html. If you wanted a website, you had to build html pages, so thats what I did. Standard practice.

[jayeff]

Originally Posted by ronnie

Lazy is not always the correct answer

I have been in business for 35 years. One of the things I learned very early is that all the technical/formal knowledge you need to run any business is in the public domain, accessible to everyone. Why then do the great majority of businesses (in any industry) fail while outstanding successes are so few they can be counted?

There are lots of reasons. Lack of capital is a common cause. But take an objective look around the boards sometime. Most questions are asked either to save looking for answers, or because people want shortcuts. Not only that, but look at the nature of the questions: the vast majority relate to the purely superficial aspects of our business, the laboring if you like. There are many people who have been in this industry for a decade and don't know any more about business principles, marketing, etc., than the day they started. The closest most boards ever get to business (as opposed to industry) posts, is if someone asks about offshore banking.

To get back to the topic of CSS, over the next year, many who continue to code without it, will spend more extra time on their coding (especially if they do a reasonable amount of maintenance on existing sites) than it would have taken to learn CSS. So sure, I read the rationalizations for not taking that time, the same way as I read the rationalizations for working without financial goals, business plans, etc. In most cases, IMO such ommissions boil down to laziness. It may not be diplomatic to say so, but I'm not big on diplomacy, and inserting the word "suspect" is about as good as I get at it.

Okay, that's an opinion. It may not be shared and even if it is, it could still be wrong. What is certain however, is that to compete in this industry now and in future, people are going to have to be more professional than anyone dreamed about a decade ago. The excess of demand over supply, which made it easier to stay dry in a monsoon than not make money in online porn, is long gone. Part of being a professional - again, in any industry - is choosing the right tools for the job and learning how to use them properly. In our industry, CSS is one of those tools.

...which is all far more than I imagined I would end up writing when I first posted in this thread. I think that is more than enough from me on this topic

[Licker4U]

CSS, like SSI, thumb making software, etc. is a tool. The more tools I know how to use the better off I'm going to be in the long run.