Reinventing the Wheel
The past week I've been working on an updated index page for my portfolio site for web surfers who don't have, or don't care about the Flash side-of-life, and have been experimenting with different design ideas including a DHTML scrolling news box.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, you've surely seen DHTML news boxes around the "web underground" - they're basically a set of four or more DIV containers, with custom arrows or a scroll bar that moves the content up and down. In essence, they're very similar to the scrolling text boxes you find in many Flash sites (including mine).
After a full afternoon of experimenting, and a hundred lines of JavaScript later, I realized something. How exactly is this better than this? While the scrolling DIV created by threeoh is cool for a minute or two, how exactly is it an improvement over an iframe, as used by Design is Kinky?
I'm naturally hard wired to put my enthusiasm behind DHTML. I mean, threeoh's box is better, more dynamic...right? Right?
The threeoh interface is definitely slicker, but doesn't feel as solid or comfortable (to me anyway) as the iframe navigation employed by DIK. And what problem does threeoh's navigation solve that an iframe couldn't have handled?
Part of the answer may be found in basic human interface guidelines ñ users feel empowered when they easily acquire control of an abstract interface. A navigational field like an iframe would have been totally foreign before the age of browsers and operating systems, but today abstract window widgets are hard wired into just about everyone. With the iframe, the end user immediately recognizes the scroll bar as an element of their browser, knows how to use it, and feels a sense of control over a foreign terrain.
But familiarity is tossed out the window with custom DHTML navigation. The user goes through a series of unconscious, but time consuming steps to adapt their knowledge to the unfamiliar interface you are providing. Unless your DHTML elements truly supersede the limitations of the browser and create a richer user experience, what good are they?
I'm beginning to question the need for all this dynamic reinventing of the wheel. Perhaps I'm not alone - today we are seeing less widgets, less pop-out menus, less junk, than the boom time internet heyday a few years ago. If dynamic navigation solves a particular design problem that cannot be replicated using native elements users are comfortable with, by all means go for it. Otherwise, what have you really accomplished, other than impressing a select few with your coding abilities?
So now I'm sitting here, trying to decide which way I should go - a slick, custom news box that lures potential clients (I am looking for work, after all), or a run of the mill iframe that strengthens the user experience, despite its plain surface. Come to think of it, could an iframe, despite only being two lines of code, actually demonstrate more skill and respect for the medium? Oh the conundrum.
Comments
In some ways I agree with you about sticking to standard paradigms of interface design. However, I've never used i-frames in the past because I had to be compatible with Netscape 4.x visitors. At the same time, the dhtml version is probably a PITA with Netscape 4.x too, so I've never attempted a scrolling box at all. Has Netscape 6 included support for i-frames?
Posted by: Lauri Mueller at March 10, 2002 3:49 PM
Answering my own question, Netscape 6 for Mac does have i-frames support!
Posted by: Lauri Mueller at March 10, 2002 3:55 PM
To Laurie:
There was a Dreamweaver extension that created a NN 4.x compaltible scrolling box. I am sure beacuse i have seen it. :-)
Posted by: nmk at March 11, 2002 4:49 AM
Thanks, I believe I know the one you are talking about. It combined layers for NS and i-frames for Explorer. But combine that with having an overall fluid web design and needing browser resizing backup code and it just wasn't worth the effort. Glad NS has now implemented i-frames to make it much easier.
Posted by: lauri at March 12, 2002 7:31 PM
Well. There is one practical reason to stick with the iframe.
And what's that?
Answer: Wheel Mouse
At least I have developed very good addiction to wheel mouse. Just rolling it on top of the area scrolls the area. It doesn't require me to move my mouse to the scrollbar, click it and move mouse again.
Stick with the iframe unless there is a JavaScript event that can be hooked to the wheel mouse.
Posted by: Tomi at November 14, 2002 2:36 AM
Shouldn't have opened my mouth:
onWheelMouse (IE6):
Posted by: Tomi at November 14, 2002 2:49 AM
