Site Changes - CSS3 - HTML5 - JQuery/AJAX/JSON - XML

[Shadowwolf]

This is just a heads up announcement for everyone who uses the site.

Moving forward (actually already started a little while ago) the site is incorporating new web technology standards for site design. These "new" technologies will allow us to provide a more interactive site for your enjoyment and allow for future functionality upgrades. A lot of these technologies are not exactly "new" but are just now being incorporated into modern web browsers like Chrome, Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9. Many older browsers do not support a lot of these new standards and so viewing and interactivity will be slightly skewed for those of you on older browsers.

Now dont panic, older browsers doesnt mean your Firefox 3.6 or IE8 is out of date.

Below is a listing of browsers and versions this site is slowly (if not already) no longer supporting:

• Internet Explorer 6 and below
• Firefox 2 and below
• Safari 3 and below
• Chrome 3 and below
• Opera 8.5 and below

Browsers with limited abilities which will quickly run into problems using or viewing new content as things move forward:

• Internet Explorer 8
• Internet Explorer 7
• Safari 4
• Chrome 6
• Chrome 5
• Chrome 4
• Opera 9.2

Special Note for Internet Explorer (IE) users:

Now...I know some of you IE users may be thinking "WTH! Im using IE8 now?!, IE9 isnt even out yet!" and you are correct. The problem with Internet Explorer is that over the last 10yrs or so, Microsoft had gotten so complacent with being the top dog in browser users that they just failed to incorporate any new standard support with regard to modernizing web development technology. Their thinking at the time is "We are #1, everyone else will conform to us" which didnt work out too well for them. Unfortunately, anyone using IE got the shaft in the deal because IE is just now catching up to the other browsers in supporting content. The good news is that up and coming IE9 actually brings IE up to date with a lot of this stuff so IE users will finally be able to experience things in the same way Firefox and Chrome users do.

"What the hell is CSS3 and HTML5 and all those other wonky letters you speak of?"

Without giving you a long programming and development lesson in web development technologies, the basic of it is the way your browser displays pages and online "applications" on your screen. When I say online "applications", I am referring to the Event Signup, the Image Gallery, the Forum itself, etc etc. All of these things are actually complex pieces of software we've written that you use but the server does (most of) the work. Your browser needs to be able to work with some of the newer technology to interact properly with these applications. If you are inquisitive and want to know more about all this technology, here are some links to satisfy your intellectual curiosity. HTML5 was recently made popular by Steve Jobs at Apple when he defended not allowing Adobe Flash to run on the iPhone. The way Steve talked about it, it was some knight in shining armor waiting in the wings to replace Flash as a better alternative, however...this is not the case. It is better than Flash in some ways, others it can't compare. Plus...its not 100% finalized yet, so things keep changing and getting added to it.

• CSS
• HTML5
• JQuery
• JSON
• AJAX
• XML

"Why cant you just design the software to work with all browsers?"

Keeping this brief also, each web browser translates web languages in its own way. Basically, the company or entity that develops the browser interprets each language its own way which isnt always 100% identical to how another browser interprets it. There are many organizations which try to keep things standardized however these are merely suggestion organizations which have no direct authority to dictate to software companies how to make their browser work with web standards. Because of this, each browser and each version has slight variations in how it works and interacts with the web and the content on it. This is further complicated now with the massive amounts of cell phones with web capability in existence. Because of the wide range of browsers and how some differ here and there with how they display stuff, we cant easily support every single one. The best we can do is pick a few of the popular ones and do our best to make sure they all work with the site as we want you to see it.

"Do I need to upgrade now?"

Yes and no. Its a good idea to keep up to date with web stuff, as a web user your responsibility is keeping your browser current so you can experience all there is that's offered. Is using an older browser going to impede your use of stuff on this site right now? Probably not. There are some aspects of the site which do use current technology and dont work with older browsers and as I said, moving forward the intention is to have more and more of those things integrated into the site. If you have a really old browser (one on the first list I outlined) then yes, definitely upgrade now. Otherwise if you are somewhat current, you may want to consider it in the near future. Unless you use specific applications written for specific versions of browsers (usually IE6, IE7, etc) in a work environment, upgrading doesnt hurt anything.

"I never realized how much goes into this site..."

If you're thinking that now, you are correct. If I told you how much time Koth and I have spent on this site you'd probably fall off your chair. As I type this we are conversing about adding new features and functionality to the site to make it more friendly and autonomous and I just said to him that "this site has become a beast that cannot be tamed". There is soooooo much going on behind the scenes on this site you dont see which makes all the interactivity and usability possible and we even have things we use ourselves for development purposes that exist you guys dont even use like our SVN or Bug Tracker.

Even with all the work it entails and has taken, I wouldnt trade it off for the world. I truly believe this site is the lifeblood of the guild as its the glue which holds things together. Without it, we would all only be able to interact in the game, which there is only so much possible that way. Here, the possibilities are limitless and only held back by technology.

The greatest joy a webmaster can have is watching the site they create be used and enjoyed, which you guys do and thats payment for the effort. The more it's used and enjoyed the more we feel valued in our efforts and keep pushing to add new and cool things to be at your disposal 

[fiere redfern]

<3. 'Nuf said.

[LostWander]

I concur with Fiere.