[OT] D hidden features topic for StackOverflow

[JMNorris]

Thanks for the responses.  I guess I was more interested in what's wrong 
with Ajax from an end user's point of view than a programmer's.

>From the programmer's end:  I know enough about Javascript and DOM to know 
that the first is decidedly a mediocre language and both are frustratingly 
inconsistent across browsers.  I guess that's what we get paid 
(insufficiently well) for. :-)

>From the user's end:  If I understand you correctly, your problem with Ajax 
and it's base technologies is not that they inherently require bad design 
but rather that they enable or at least encourage bad design.  (And that 
Ajax and friends would be mostly unnecessary with a few simple fixes in 
HTML/XHTML.)

The real reason for asking this is that I'm applying for a job where the 
employer will want me to use Ajax.  From the desciption of the project in 
the job posting, I can't imagine why they think it would be useful.  
They'll also want me to use ColdFusion which suggests that the grown-ups 
are not in charge.  But I promise I'll try not to break the "Back" button.  
And if they insist on a Flash intro page, I promise I'll try very hard to 
vomit on the employer. :-)

I've seen enough horribly designed web sites to be quite sympathetic to 
complaints about various tools encouraging bad design.  But I guess I tend 
to blame the designer more than the tool.  Bad designers will always be 
with us no matter what tools we have.  I guess I think that the only thing 
wrong with Comic Sans is that people use it. :-)

-- 
JMNorris