I’ve been doing a bit of redesign on this site lately, as you may notice if you’re not using a feedreader. At this point, I’m just cleaning up a few odds and ends. I’d hoped to do a more extensive overhaul, but have run into some of the dreaded browser-compatibility problems that plague all Web designers. Simply put, not all brands of browsers will display the exact same page of HTML in exactly the same way, despite supposed “Web standards.”
I prefer the Firefox browser for reasons I won’t discuss fully here. Briefly, its many extensions make routine tasks easier and Web development simpler, and its tabs make daily browsing more efficient. (All the other major browsers except IE have tabs, too, though.) I also like the fact that it’s open-source software, drawing on the collective knowledge and innovation of programmers not necessarily bound to a single corporate vision. I use a lot of open-source software, including WordPress to write this blog, the Joomla content-management system for some other projects, and FileZilla to FTP my files. Part of this, too, is my desire to reduce the number of Microsoft products I use. I don’t think Microsoft is completely evil, the way some do, but I’ve never been a big believer in monopolies. I diversify my investments; I got bored when Houston dominated the WNBA for too many years.
It’s tempting, therefore, to optimize this site for Firefox. Not only is this bad Web design, though, but it flies in the face of recent news that makes me actually want to support Microsoft. The corporation is under pressure this week from a Redmond, WA evangelist to withdraw its support for a state LGBT-rights bill. After some flip-flopping last year, when the bill was narrowly defeated, Microsoft says it will support it this time around. Microsoft is also one of 101 companies that received a perfect 100 score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index in 2005 (along with Apple, I hasten to add).
So, it’s back to the drawing boards for me as I work to ensure the revamp of this site is cross-browser compatible, supporting the software companies that support us. Will this actually make a difference to the corporations involved, or advance the cause of LGBT rights? Probably not. But karma’s a bitch. I’m not taking any chances.
For more on the pending Washington legislation, visit Equal Rights Washington.
