Re: Lynx Browser

by "Arcady"<arcady(at)jps.net>

 Date:  Mon, 29 Nov 1999 19:11:37 GMT
 To:  hwg-basics(at)hwg.org,
hwg-techniques(at)hwg.org
  todo: View Thread, Original
 >> I've seen a lot of stuff on this list about the Lynx browser.  I have been

 >> 2) How popular is Lynx?
 >
 >	My site (http://www.yi.org/) is hardly the best example, but
 >here's my top 5 browser list for yesterday:
 >
 >5505: Lynx
 >4165: KVTek yiPost
 >3309: Mozilla
 >1738: Mozilla (compatible)
 >1484: DynamoDNS from Rage Creations	

I would recommend this source of statistics:
http://websnapshot.mycomputer.com/
http://websnapshot.mycomputer.com/browsers.html

They're fairly inclusive of the overall web given how they get their data 
(http://websnapshot.mycomputer.com/datasources.html).


And now my opinions: ( :) )
Myself I actively do not support lynx. I have no problems with a text only 
browser.
And no problems with making sites disabled-able.
But I do have a problem with a browser that refuses to allow even some html
3.2, still fails on frames, and allows no client site programing, CSS, or 
positioning.

Embracing some of those standards rather than avoiding them would lead to a
more disability-friendly browser. (such as some of the CSS proposals for 
language
manipulation that would make the web more "blind friendly").


Most of the people who browse the web actively got their browsers in the last
year or two. So they are post 4.x browsers. If the web made a push towards the
newer technology the few ludites still left behind would upgrade and the 
incintive
to develop a text only disabled-friendly browser that does accept the current
standards would come about.

We're no longer in those early days were forcing the users to upgrade would
turn them all off of the net... The web has a reached a level of importance
in society. The standards are mostly solid now. Most of the users browse on
newer software.

We could survive a push to force the rest to upgrade. And come out stronger
for it. I'm not pushing for this so much now. But when NS 5 comes out if it
lives up to the claims I heard for it (100% W3C compliant and fits on a floppy)
at Web99. Once that happens I will be all behind a push to force a user upgrade
for that 5% that has to yet to get to 4.x . Especially since the W3C has 
everything
you need to build a disability-friendly client side scriptable browser. Which
is where Lynx should be.

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