A phenomenal 21st century site

Isn't it amazing what can be done with a computer.

Thanks for sharing. I shall put this in my favorites to enjoy later.

Lucille

Ick. Blatant Flash abuse. Flash was never meant to be used to construct an entire site and shouldn't be used as such. It was always intended to be an element.

It might look pretty to you, but it completely sucks if you're blind or visually impaired. There's no accommodation for screen readers or text enlargement software. Neither are there any tooltips when the mouse is hovered.

The navigation is extremely awkward and leaves you at the mercy of the Flash designer. One's browser back button is ineffective when using that site, which is a cardinal sin.

The only thing worse would be if they worked in some horrid java applet.

Another one bites the dust. Becky A

I must agree Becky. The website designers have allowed the medium to get in the way of the message.

Dianne Lewandowski ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

The migraine part of my head does not like this site I am afraid. Too many flashing lights and the beat is irritating. Just my opinion though.

That, of course, is your opinion. Things are changing with Flash.

The site is built by an "audio/visual/media" company. So, it therefore won't be suited to the blind or the deaf no matter what they did.

Many plain Jane packages aren't accessible sites.

That may be true, but the reason that I posted about it was so that some of you - who might appreciate it - could allow the "experience". Like going to a movie. For the type of company that they are, the artistry is amazing and appropriate.

Dianne

Common problem with novice website designers. They soooo want to show off all the things they can do that they clutter it up with every trick they've learned on the first page. Takes ten years to load on dial-up. Then, as Sheena observes, you get a migraine from all the busy-ness.

You old wet blanket, you! Like Lucille, I`ve bookmarked it to dip into from time to time!

Pat P

Okay, let me reword: Flash was never meant to be used to construct an entire site. It was always intended to be an element. Using it to construct an entire site risks alienating a decent sized segment of the audience.

That's somewhat discriminatory, isn't it? A fair sized chunk of their business is B-Traxx mixing samples. I know of at least a few blind/visually impaired people that compose tunes using samples and mix loops. This would be right up their alley....but oh...too bad they can't navigate the website.

Which is a damned shame. If more people took the time to learn a bit more about how to write code that conforms to W3C specifications, rather then really crappy kludgewerk, then perhaps more sites would be accessible.

Truthfully, having a background in both web design AND the music world...I have to say (as a personal opinion) that it's a steaming pile. It's trying far too hard to be edgy, hip, and modern...and it's coming off as poorly-designed, pretentious, and unprofessional.

I know you're learning about Flash, Dianne, and I think that's super cool. You deserve a better role-model than Derbauer. Like lots of things, Flash is easy to learn and hard to master. Remember that when surfing around the net. Most of the sites you will run into are designed by people in their Flash design diapers.

You can do better than them. I know it! Becky

Becky, I've signed their guestbook (after a struggle) - suggest you do the same.

But some sites aren't meant for everybody. That's like expecting everyone to appreciate the New York Times, or The New Yorker, or The Atlantic Monthly. Some sites just have their peculiar audience. They neither appeal to everyone, nor should they be particularly accessible to everyone . . . for that might defeat the initial purpose. Sort of like not having normal museums because the blind can't see the pictures. Not everything can be accessible to everyone.

I'm designing a church website and am going to do my best to ensure that it is compatible/accessible.

Well, I'm trying to learn. But not every site needs to be accessible. And a lot of designers simply aren't aware. Or, they have a poor attitude. I hear what you're trying to say, and I do agree that sites should be accessible. But some sites will always be focused toward a given audience.

You're looking at it from a site design perspective. I was looking at it from an art perspective. It's a truly amazing site and accomplishes what I could only dream of accomplishing. I'm just not that talented.

Ahhh, sort of similar to not liking abstract art. I'm sorry you didn't appreciate it on a different sphere.

Flash is not easy to learn at all. It is complex and requires you to keep a tremendous amount in your brain at the same time. And then, on top of it, you have to be an artist to truly convey what you're trying to do. I'm learning it to keep my brain working. After battling for four years, I was pretty much mush. At my age, I can't afford to be mushy, so I reached out to the challenge. Not sure I'm getting more sharp, but I'm not getting any worse!

Bless your heart. Thanks for the support. Unfortunately, I can't afford 3D Studio! And I'm not sure I have the talent to work with it. Although it IS tempting.

Dianne

You may find will be of some use to you. I "look after" the website of our old church in Yorkshire . Although it fails some of the more esoteric W3C checks it is still accessible to a friend of ours who has been blind since birth yet managed to acquire a degree in maths and holds down a full-time job providing second-line IT support to a large UK government organisation.

Thanks much for the link(s). I'll more than likely make use of the Validator site.

Dianne