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SimpleQuiz › Part I: Headings
In response to Jason Kottke’s post on semantics and markup, I thought I’d try out a new series here called SimpleQuiz (I know… but it’s better than “Markup Quiz” or “Web Standards Quiz”). The objective is to ask some questions… Read full entry
Aug 27 2003 | 69 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Headings › Conclusion
What seemed like an innocent little question to start off with, eventually become more of a informative discussion. So far so good, and I’m excited to continue on with this series. Note: Through the magic of Movable Type, I’ve set… Read full entry
Aug 28 2003 | 6 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part II: A List
I’ll try to gradually have the questions get more complicated — but judging by the amount of discussion the first one generated, there’s a lot to be said regarding just about anything. So, while the answer to this one might… Read full entry
Sep 2 2003 | 58 Comments
SimpleQuiz › A List › Conclusion
This was another easy one — but as expected the discussion got more interesting as additional related questions were asked. The question itself is becoming secondary to the conversation happening alongside. Notable Comments Overwhelmingly, it was D all the way…. Read full entry
Sep 2 2003 | 8 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part III: Heading and List
This one might divide the answers a bit, and is surely something I’d like to know people’s opinion on. It could, however, be just splitting hairs. Is there really a big difference? Does it really matter or is it six… Read full entry
Sep 5 2003 | 43 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Heading and List › Conclusion
This question was intended to divide the results more so than the first two. While there isn’t much context included with the examples, I think what I got out of the discussion that followed is that either method is good… Read full entry
Sep 7 2003 | 4 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part IV: When to P
Looking back, we’ve covered a lot of ground with just three questions, haven’t we? I realize I could go on for a dozen more questions about lists — different combinations, ordered lists, etc. I could also ask questions that are… Read full entry
Sep 8 2003 | 55 Comments
SimpleQuiz › When to P › Conclusion
This past question has brought up some rather interesting points. Many readers chimed in on the fact that option B was better (wrapping the content in a p tag) due to nice formatting for un-styled viewers. Others saw it unnecessary,… Read full entry
Sep 10 2003 | 12 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part V: Site and Page Titles
Our first reader-submitted quiz question from Thomas Lackner: Q: Which is more semantically correct for a corporate web site (that does not require an image-based logo)? <div id=”logo”> Widget Co, Inc. </div> <h1>List of Widgets</h1> <h1>Widget Co, Inc.</h1> <h2>List of… Read full entry
Sep 13 2003 | 32 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Site and Page Titles › Conclusion
This question was probably the most vague — and there certainly wasn’t a clear-cut right or wrong answer. But that’s why I like it. I enjoy hearing what others think about the relationship of the title and h1 tags. Notable… Read full entry
Sep 15 2003 | 13 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part VI › Form(atting)
Let’s talk forms. A lot my web design headaches are caused while formatting form items. This quiz question comes to us from MikeyC: Q: When marking up forms, which is more semantically correct when separating form items? <form> <p><label for=”name”>Name:</label>… Read full entry
Sep 16 2003 | 53 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Form(atting) › Conclusion
This was a tough one to wrap up. There are probably more acceptable possibilities with this question than with previous questions. A lot of great examples were brought to light regarding label and fieldset elements. Notable Comments Simon Willison: …once… Read full entry
Sep 17 2003 | 11 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part VII › Order Up
This quiz focuses on element ordering, and is based on a suggestion from Paul Smith. When hyperlinks are coupled with inline phrase elements (such as strong, em, abbr, etc.) are there any consequences in regards to the ordering? Q: Which… Read full entry
Sep 20 2003 | 35 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Order Up › Conclusion
Looking over the comments from the question, it appears that most saw either A or B as semantically equal. Adam Polselli brought up an interesting point though on a possible benefit to choosing option A: I think that there’s an… Read full entry
Sep 22 2003 | 8 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part VIII › Titles
With this question (based on a suggestion by Shaun Inman), I’m hoping the discussion touches on a few different things that happen to be going on. I’ll leave it at that for now, and let you all weigh in. Q:… Read full entry
Sep 23 2003 | 78 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Titles › Conclusion (sort of)
Where do I begin? This one has no obvious answer, and didn’t really intend to. In fact, very few of these questions really intend to have a definitive answer. And the following is my attempt to absorb the illuminating comments… Read full entry
Sep 25 2003 | 16 Comments
About the Talking About Semantics
I feel the need to take a time-out and regroup in regards to the SimpleQuiz. What’s the point in arguing about semantics? XHTML is not a semantic language. I agree — it may never be a purely semantic language. I… Read full entry
Sep 28 2003 | 8 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part IX › Smart Linking
To mix it up a bit, I thought I’d offer this quiz question from Egor Kloos. It sort of borders on the topic of usability — finding the best way to hyperlink something in context. What method will make the… Read full entry
Oct 23 2003 | 89 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Smart Linking › Conclusion
Certainly some great discussion on smart hyperlinking methods. Many like B over the other three examples. I think I like this one best as well. The link is surrounding the description of exactly what it’s pointing to. Using a title… Read full entry
Oct 30 2003 | 9 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part X › Multi-Paragraph List Items
This quiz question comes courtesy of Matt Haughey and it’s certainly one that I (and maybe you) have wondered about. The scenario is familiar — marking up multiple paragraphs within the same list item. There are visual consequences with any… Read full entry
Dec 1 2003 | 61 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part X › Multi-Paragraph List Items › Conclusion
I’ve been meaning to recap the last SimpleQuiz question for awhile now. You know, the Holidays… Looking back on multi-paragraph list items, it appears that (to me) option C might be the way to go — using CSS to modify… Read full entry
Dec 29 2003 | 13 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XI › Image Floating
First things first, many thanks to all of the readers of SimpleBits for making 2003 a great year. It’s been fun chatting about standards-compliant design, the subtlties of minute markup comparisons and… beer. I’m already looking forward to continue with… Read full entry
Jan 2 2004 | 82 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XI › Image Floating › Conclusion
Looking back on SimpleQuiz Part XI, I started thinking more about seeing an image and caption unstyled. Which option best shows the relationship between the image and its caption? Here’s a comparison of the three methods presented, without any CSS… Read full entry
Jan 20 2004 | 17 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XII: Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumb navigation. This is an interesting topic, sent in by Thomas Baekdal. Breadcrumb navigation is commonly used as a method for showing the user where they are within the structure of a site — and giving them an easy way… Read full entry
Feb 4 2004 | 76 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XII › Breadcrumbs › Conclusion
Looking over over the last SimpleQuiz, one of the comments that struck me was one by Darrel: In terms of an anology, it refers to leaving a trail based on where you’ve been. Very few navigation systems actually do that… Read full entry
Feb 23 2004 | 24 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XIII › Empholdics
Emphasis, bold, italics. What if you needed to handle all three at once? (bogus method used for the preceding example ;-) Here are three options (plus any additional scenarios you can think of). Note that the <strong> element could be… Read full entry
Feb 26 2004 | 52 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XIII › Empholdics › Conclusion
This last SimpleQuiz stirred up some great opinions. A few asked when you would ever need to emphasize, embolden and italicize test all at once. But isn’t that giving up too easily? I think Patrick Griffiths comment sums it up… Read full entry
Feb 29 2004 | 17 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XIV: Hex Challenge
This one is purely for fun. There was going to be a prize for this quiz, however I realize I have no way of knowing whether you cheat or not. But it’s worth giving it shot without viewing source or… Read full entry
Apr 7 2004 | 56 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XV: Numbered List Pairs
This quiz is certainly one of those grey areas — a comparison that may have some begging that there must be a better way to spend one’s time. Figure 1 Still with me? Good. Last December, we sort of touched… Read full entry
Apr 20 2004 | 110 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XV: Conclusion
For the first time, the last SimpleQuiz had over 100 comments. Wow. And once again, “lists” prove that they are the most easily debated when talking about semantic markup. Not because it was the first comment — but because it… Read full entry
Apr 26 2004 | 13 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XVI: Launching Windows
This question comes in from Keith Robinson — and it’s a good one. Recently, Keith had been working on a project using the XHTML 1.0 Strict doctype — but ran into a dilemma when he needed to launch certain links… Read full entry
May 6 2004 | 122 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XVI › Conclusion
Amidst all my travelling and whatnot, I realized I hadn’t written a wrap-up for the latest SimpleQuiz, Launching Windows. The camps were rather divided on this one — with roughly half voting for a Javascript pop-up solution, and the other… Read full entry
Jun 3 2004 | 32 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XVII: Addresses
The latest SimpleQuiz comes from Dave Shea and asks how best to markup up addresses, with multiple lines. Read full entry
Aug 4 2004 | 126 Comments
SimpleQuiz › Part XVII: Conclusion
In looking over the comments on the latest SimpleQuiz (yes, I actually do wish I had named this something different), it seems the original goal has been skewed a bit. Read full entry
Aug 13 2004 | 48 Comments
Web Standards Solutions, Special Edition
It’s been a long five years since it was orginally published, but last month month a new Web Standards Solutions, Special Edition was released by Friends of ED. Late last year, I gave the manuscript a little freshening up, mostly… Read full entry
Jun 9 2009 | Comments Off