Tuesday, January 10, 2012

polling the public


There are all sorts of political polls in the American newspapers these days.  And this blog has not sponsored a poll of any sort since acquiring its "mexpatriate" moniker a year ago.


So, in the spirit of the season, I offer the year's first mexpatriate poll.


The page has a new design.   But, depending on your browser, you may be getting a completely different experience. 


If you are using Internet Explorer, you will most likely see a green, white, and red banner flash on the screen, to be replaced by.




If you are using Chrome or Firefox, you will see the banner I originally intended to show.
             

 
I concluded there was a problem when several comments referred to the simple look of the banner.  Even though the background is new, it is not that much different than the banner it replaced.


There appears to be no way to remedy the issue with Internet Explorer.  It simply will not show the background.  Rather than merely nuking it, let me ask your opinion.  Which would you prefer?

  • Let diversity reign.  Readers can choose their own view by choosing the appropriate browser.
  • Fix it.  Let everyone share in the simplicity of black and white journalism.


The poll is to the right.  You have until Thursday to register an opinion.


Until then, the world will simply roll along.


Note:  Not surprisingly, 89% of the readers who voted in the poll chose to leave the banner as it is.  That is what I was incllined to do.  At some point, the banner will be revised.  It is inevitable.

 

43 comments:

Barbara said...

Re the banner not to mention the margins ....black is as big of a HUH?? to me as the gray margin was. Mexico is such a colorful place, and gray/black are so dull and lifeless. I don't get it. The blog isn't a feel-good place to come to.Since you asked for opinions.....

John Calypso said...

I vote for Ron Paul and the color header I see in FireFox

S Parks said...

You might try to put the link to the graphic in this section
Like ....
#header-inner {background: url(http://sparks-mexico.com/OtherWebs/blogs/sparks/sparks-melaque.jpg) no-repeat bottom;

sparks said...

Now it's the real me !!

NWexican said...

WOW, umm, I say, yes. By the content I'm guessing you are still in Oregon?

Steve Cotton said...

For a few more days.

Steve Cotton said...

Color in blogs is very tricky. I wanted to experiment with black text on a white background. If the black margins get a bit depressing, use Ctrl + to expand the text portion. I have. And if I kill the banner, I will decrease the margins.

Steve Cotton said...

I agree with you on one of those choices.

Steve Cotton said...

I am discovering that. Wordpress seems to be calling my name again.

Steve Cotton said...

I always thought you were real.

Kathe said...

I like the coleus leaf that I have with the iPad.

Steve Cotton said...

I am glad it shows up someplace.

Rick said...

Headed looks beautiful on my iPhone and iMac.
Browser is Snow Lepard.

Steve Cotton said...

The IE people may want to try another browser.

NWexican said...

second THAT!

Dan in NC said...

Steve,
I like the format as it presently stands. Looks good on my PC, and if a bit small on the iPad, I simply turn it on it's side and slightly expand the text - no bother. And in a dull world, a little bit of colour is MOST welcome!
Cheers!
Dan in NC

Steve Cotton said...

I see a trend developing.

LeslieLimon said...

I like the new look!  The header photo is bright and colorful, but what I like most is the white background with black letters, makes it easier to read on my Kindle. :)   

John Calypso said...

have to go with Leslie on the black on white - Do not like the reverse.

Gary Denness said...

Wordpress called my name a good couple of years ago, and I followed. But...

Blogger has matured a lot since then. I like the consistency that you tend to get with Wordpress. But I like the freedom to implement tools, such as Disqus, that you get on Blogger. There isn't yet a free platform that I've found that offers both.

I do still think about coming back to Blogger, but there are two things that have made me pause long enough to have a change of mind. Consistency in the presentation of the blog is one. That there is no exporter (that works entirely satisfactorily) is another.

I like your blog. If it isn't broke, don't fix it, as they say. Content is king. 

Perplexed said...

Why in the world would anyone still be using IE???

Steve Cotton said...

I will try to salvage color.

Steve Cotton said...

It is strange how that works.

Kim G said...

I use Firefox and both see and like the coleus leaf.  I continue to like the new look, too. But my guess is that someone like Gary Denness could easily fix the problem so it shows properly on any browser.

By the way, just out of curiosity, I opened your site on IE, and the header first shows as a sort of milk chocolate color and then shows the coleus for about 3 seconds, then goes to white on black. The other thing is that while the coleus header shows, all the corners on the design are square, but then become rounded as the header changes. Curious, especially since HTML is supposedly an open standard.

In any case, I voted for no change. IE isn't the best browser anyway.

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where the pin came out of our pinkie yesterday, so we can type better. But much physical therapy lies ahead.

Steve Cotton said...

According to the statistics on my blog, about 40% of my readers use IE.

Steve Cotton said...

I am happy to hear about the pin removal. We shall see what happens about the background.

Steve Cotton said...

Thanks, Gary.  I try to put the emphasis on content.

Lludwick2568 said...

I now understand the hours you would spend on appellant briefs.  If you can ask for a vote on a blog banner, then of course you could spend many hours trying to parse the poorly worded argument of a trial attorney simply trying to convince a bored hearings officer.  Must be that 22 year old image in the mirror, striving to...?  By the way, I voted (secretly) yes. 

NWexican said...

Ah, Bend.

Steve Cotton said...

A beautiful place. But, for culture, I may as well be in Melaque. And I will be soon.

Steve Cotton said...

We cannot long hide our basic personalities.

Felipe Zapata said...

I have been mostly off the grid since Wednesday of last week, and it seems I am too late to vote.  No matter, most people voted as I would have voted. One should shun IE as a matter of principle. Perhaps one should shun people who use IE.  They are a troubled lot.

Felipe Zapata said...

My Lord, a Paul-bot. But I am not surprised.

Felipe Zapata said...

That 40 percent here use IE reflects the average age of your readers, which is to say ... old.

Steve Cotton said...

I like to think of John as a consistent libertarian.  As for me, I am a libertarian who would like to win an election now and then.

Steve Cotton said...

That would leave me in a rather odd position; I am a bi-user.  Both IE and Firefox.

Steve Cotton said...

I am not so certain.  My mother is a non-IE user.

Felipe Zapata said...

As I said, a troubled lot.

Gary Denness said...

Your mother is smart. IE users are stupid. That's a fact. Sort of... 
http://mashable.com/2011/07/29/internet-explorer-iq/

I suspect younger users tend to try new things. I'd be a bit suspicious of any age group related browser use stats though, given that so many 'work' PC's are fixed with IE. They'd skew the figures a bit.

Gary Denness said...

My solution would be to employ a rotating image banner. That works. Well, the code I have for it does anyway. But it's really quite bothersome to install. 

Slightly related to one of your points - IE's inability to recognise rounded edges in Blogger (and other platforms)  has bothered me for years. It's determined to square off any curve. I never did find a satisfactory cure for that.

I'm glad to hear the pin is out. I wasn't aware the pin had gone in, but still. Hope it's healing properly amigo.

Steve Cotton said...

And some people are simply happy to use what they have.  Comfort is not an age-sotted category.

Steve Cotton said...

I suspect I will just leave everything as is.  After all, I will soon have a different banner.  It is inevitable -- a word that is quickly heading to the top of my favorites list.

Gary Denness said...

Absolutely. I only included the link as a bit of fun. I hope it wasn't taken to reflect my opinion of IE users! I know some IE users who are very smart indeed. And to be fair, whilst not my cup of tea, the latest IE browsers are perfectly good.