With all the latest buzz coming out about Lockergnome taking their well earned, and well developed design, and throwing it away for a site based on HTML and tables.
We’ve spent a lot of time and effort on our cutting edge CSS layouts and, while they are definitely fancy-schmancy, they detract quite a bit from our core efforts which are great content and easy access to it. So, as Chris put it in yesterday’s Windows Fanatics, we’re taking a mulligan and calling a do over. Lockergnome is changing looks one more time and moving to a more traditional layout and coding structure. This, my friends, successfully filled the rest of the time between when we last graced your in-box and now. I’ve been locked in my office, nose to the grindstone, hacking out automated content updaters, link rotators, and convoluted include structures hand over fist. Now here’s the part that’s going to get resident Web-Gnome, Foofy Mathews, on a plane to throttle me in my sleep… All the layout is based on tried and true HTML tables.
The basis of moving to their new site design was for accessibility, and for consideration of the future. But now, Lockergnome has thrown that all away, and is shutting the door on anyone who doesn't use the correct browser. Why? For what? For a few people who feel they don't like the new 'feel' or the new 'look'? Is XHTML or CSS a bit too complicated a step from HTML? Maybe they should drop a bit of text on the bottom of the page, site best viewed with Internet Explorer, if you don't have Internet Explorer, go elsewhere.
I just checked their site, it renders great in both IE 5.0 / 6.0, FireFox and Konquerer. If that isn't enough to keep them with their layout, they could always go to a Transitional layout, with a mix of XHTML and tables (as suggested by Dave from mezzoblue).
I know I'm being a bit harsh, but I lack to see the reasoning behind this move. And I also don't need to comment any further, when greater minds have commented on this event.