If the brick and mortar world were like some web sites...

[vakkotaur]

A bit of IRC gets posted...

Y: OK, rant mode ON: Why the bloody CRAP do sites have to have flash with sound when you don't expect it?
Y: I can see sites like Homestar Runner having sound in every flash, because... um... it's ENTIRELY flash!
Y: But these sites that use flash to make nothing more than a glorified animated GIF, then *BAM* sound from nowhere...
KT: 'cos they wanna grab yer attention so maybe yoo will buy their stuff.
KT: Seems a strange way ta do business. "Hi, potential customer! You need Special Software to view our site. Don't have it? Gee, f--- you, potential customer!"

Y: Dell uses ActiveX as navigation on its "premier" site.
Y: I guess they don't wish to do business with everyone.
Y: Because there's no way in hell I'm using IE just for a navbar.
D: You're not a dweeb using IE? Then you're probably too intelligent to fall for our sales gimicks - we don't need your kind - go kill a few braincells.

* KT goes to a car dealership to buy a car. He enters the building, but there's just this bare room with no other doors, just one bored-looking guy sitting in a chair.
KT: Um, this the car deelership?
Guy: Up there.
* Guy points to a hole in the 20-foot-high ceiling.
KT: Wot thee hecko?!
Guy: You gotta go through that hole.
KT: How?
Guy: Don't you have a jetpack?
KT: Ummmmmmmm nope.
Guy: Go buy a jetpack, then maybe we'll see about selling you a car.
KT: Me got a ladder at home. Me go get.
Guy: You sure? A jetpack is recommended.
KT: Howcome?
Guy: The owners of this dealership recommend a Zip-Away jetpack for the full car-shopping experience.
KT: Woodnt a ladder werk just as well tho?
Guy: Um... no. Of course not. Gotta be a Zip-Away jetpack, as recommended by the owners of this dealership.
* KT goes off to look for a car dealership that actually wants to do business.
* D climbs the building across the street and looks into the showroom with binoculars, with the sales guy none-the-wiser. They're selling old trucks chassis tarted up with lots of chrome and bright paint.
D: (This is seeing what the javascript does from the source and using the info to navigate).

Comments

[jdm314.livejournal.com]

It's funny. Early today someone on my friendslist posted a link to this article, then twice today I had exactly these sorts of problems with online stores. And then this post comes a long. It must be accessible website day.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Oh and BTW if you actually have a jetpack, what happens is, you fly through the hole in the ceiling, only to find a bunch of other holes that you have to fly down into, leading to the various rooms in the building which are all at ground level, and the only reason they put these high solid walls between them was that they hung a bunch of pretty signs from the ceiling pointing down into the rooms to identify them, and they spent a lot of money on them so they wanted to be sure you'd get a good look at them, which you wouldn't do if you could just *walk* from room to room, now would you?