[Taxacom] The Lacewing Digital Library: a new web resource for insects of the orders Neuroptera, Megaloptera and Raphidioptera

[Andy Mabbett]

In message <4728952B.7020609 at tamu.edu>, John D. Oswald
<j-oswald at tamu.edu> writes

>The Lacewing Digital Library project team is pleased to announce the
>availability of a new web resource -- the Lacewing Digital Library
>(http://lacewing.tamu.edu/index.html)

>Comments and suggestions for additions and improvements to the LDL site
>are welcome.

[reply posted to Taxacom only]

I don't know as much about Lacewings as I'd like to, but I know  good
deal about web authoring. I hope the following brief points will be
helpful.

   *    Quote the URL as http://lacewing.tamu.edu/ - there's no need for
        the "index.html" to be given

   *    Loose the frames - use server-side includes to add a banner at
        the top of each page, then let it scroll of the view-port to
        save screen space on small devices.

   *    Fix your HTML, so that it validates.

   *    "Site best viewed at 1280 x 960 - Designed for IE7 and FireFox
        2.0 "  and if I'm an Opera user with a 1024x or 800x display?
        Design your site to work in all browsers.

   *    With just two options (or even half a dozen) a drop-down for
        "select a resource" is overkill; you should simply provide a
        list of links (marked up as a list, using "UL" and "LI" HTML
        elements. If you can't do that, then the drop-down should not be
        dependent on Javascript, but have a "go" button (you're not only
        excluding many users with no Javascript capability, but also
        search engines.

   *    Use the hCard microformat <http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard>
        for all your contact details.

   *    Consider using the draft "species" microformat
        <http://microformats.org/wiki/species> for taxonomic names; and
        contribute to the work developing that microformat at on that
        wiki.

I'd be happy to advise further, about either web standards or applying
microformats.

-- 
Andy Mabbett
            *  Say "NO!" to compulsory UK ID Cards:  <http://www.no2id.net/>
            *  Free Our Data:  <http://www.freeourdata.org.uk>
            *  Are you using Microformats, yet: <http://microformats.org/> ?