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August 06, 2003

Interview with Eric Meyer, Part II

Missed Part I ?

OJ: What evoked your passion for webstandards?
EM: Trying to use CSS in 1996, that's what. Browser support for CSS at that time was so poor, and the browsers so far out of agreement with each other, that I quickly became an advocate of standardization without consciously realizing it. All I was trying to do was preserve my sanity-- "I just want this stuff to work the same in all browsers!" So I started charting CSS support and explaining how things were supposed to work, in the hopes that browsers would catch up. And, eventually, they did.

In the process, I became convinced that in order for the Web to work the way it should, there has to be a common foundation. Browsers can compete on user interface and features like pop-up blocking, but they have to agree on how to represent and display content. To do otherwise is just silly. It's like having two or three competing word processors that can't read any formats but their own. The word processing market actually went through a period like that, but eventually it all settled down and programs were able to import files from other programs; in other words, the competition was over software features, not file formats. The Web appears to be transitioning to that phase, which hopefully will mean less insanity for all of us.

OJ: Which is your personal "Internet Year" of the last ten years and why?
EM: I'd say it was actually ten years ago, in 1993. That's when I first encountered the Web, thanks to a beta version of Mosaic, and I marked up my first document using good old HTML 2.0. I was managing a Web server by early 1994, which would be the runner-up for being my personal Internet year. It wasn't as revolutionary for me personally, but it was where I really started learning.

OJ: How do you value the relation of commercial and non-commercial browsers?
EM: I don't see that there should be a difference. There are standards, and no browser can be taken seriously if it doesn't properly support them. Of course, a browser can ignore CSS entirely, for example, and that's fine-- just as long as it doesn't do a halfway job of implementing CSS. The same holds true for SVG, or XSLT, or XML, or just about anything else. If you're going to do it, do it right. That's all we ask.

So to me, the question isn't about the commericality of a browser. It's all about the interoperability.

OJ: Can you give us a small outlook of your personal future?
EM: In light of recent events, I've left AOL and am striking out on my own to provide consulting services. I'll be focusing on showing clients how to slash costs and improve user experience through the use of open standards, and also on providing customized training and workshops on CSS and standards-based design techniques. This change of career came somewhat suddenly, so while I have a domain for my new venture, the site isn't online yet. I hope to have it up by the middle of August. I'm also working on the second edition to "Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide," which we hope will be on shelves late this year or very early next year, and have plans to write a sequel to "Eric Meyer on CSS."

OJ: Thanks a lot for taking some time, Eric. It's a pleasure you've come here.
EM: Many thanks to you, and all the best to you and your readers.

Wishing you all the best,

The Opera Journal

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