Looney Labs Rabbits Mailing list Archive

RE: [Rabbits] Badge Poll for Rabbits Wiki

  • FromDavid Artman <david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • DateWed, 17 Oct 2007 13:27:44 -0700
> From: "Don Sheldon" <don.sheldon@xxxxxxxxx>
> Why is the image size being stored in the template?

Well, one has to call for the image in the badge's <TABLE> code which,
in turn, either auto-sizes the table (in most browsers) or the table
cell that contains the icon image is explicitly sized (the most
compliant practice).

Also, the icon image itself has to be some kind of size, right? While
you can certainly nest templates (or, more simply, call for a 32px image
and then force it to 16px with HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes) it seems a
better practice, to me, to only make them the size you need and only
call for the proper size. It's a bandwidth thing: why call for 32x32
images just to have the web browser scale them (poorly--most browsers
don't scale a tenth as well as, say, GIMP or Photoshop) to fit a 16x16
IMAGE tag call? Seems trivial, yes, but I'm talking best practices, not
practices which waste bandwidth and storage to save a few moment's of
copying and pasting work.

Furthermore, it's complicated enough for 90% of our wiki users just to
set the code for the badges when they are ready; who's going to maintain
a complex nesting system, should it require extension later? The
"copy-tweak-make icon" steps are complex enough as it is, not to mention
setting up corresponding Category pages (and Article redirect pages, to
make the con-/game-/warren-Categories appear in a search) and making
correct links to them on the Schedule and Coordinators pages.

Of course, I am happy to step aside on the whole thing and leave badge
sizing and artwork scaling and code strategies to others. Wait a
second... I *did* do that, back in July, and that's about the last time
anything was done with it, until this week. I'm not trying to "point
fingers" or be bitchy; but I'd like to see it move forward and,
apparently, I'm all-but-alone in being willing to drive it. If there is
now an swelling interest in others to do it bigger and better and more
like other sites, then I invite someone to take over for me. It's going
from a "neat-o idea, let's do it!" kind of thing to more of a "design by
committee really *is* the nightmare that I recall it being from my
freelance days" kind of thing.

I'll happily copy and tweak whatever base template is designed and make
the icons for the conventions that I coordinate and the games that I
demo, if someone wants to make a different base template from the ones
we've got up for consideration. I am just trying to work with code
that's already ready and waiting for use and which is a bit more complex
than I am comfortable customizing (beyond the obvious text and image
call modifications).

Thanks;
David