| Some people can't reach the shelf containing all the goodies. It's only fair to build them a bargain basement. |
If you're using an old browser, you won't be able to see the CSS and the gorgeous prettiness that goes with it.
However, since there are a certain few things this 'ere site puts stock in (specifically, the getElementById JavaScript method and the ability to write cookies), you won't be able to see 'em if you don't have those either.
So what do you get instead?
You get the pages with a reasonably pretty random background, which doesn't interfere with the text. Nothing garish, just a subtle, interesting tile.
When I originally designed the site, that was exactly my plan, thus:
Anything that doesn't do [JavaScript, the W3C DOM and cookies] will be given the Lynx-compatible page, including some basic prettiness for those out there using IE5 or below, Netscape 4.x or below etc.
That way, everyone gets something, and those using a properly standards-compliant browser get the all-singing, all-dancing site.
And, sure enough, that's what everyone gets. The same functionality, the same content, but workable on whatever platform you use. After an initial hold-up, I appear to have acquitted myself rather admirably, after all.
For all I know... it may even be WAP compatible. Now wouldn't that be something?