Credit where it’s due

This site was built using accessible HTML, minimal CSS, and as little vanilla JavaScript as necessary. It loads fast, looks decent, and doesn’t argue with your browser — which is more than can be said for a lot of modern websites.

Philosophically, it owes a great deal to the following people — most of whom have been quietly shouting into the void about good web practices for decades:

• Tim Berners-Lee – For inventing the web and insisting it should work for everyone, forever.
• Jakob Nielsen – For reminding the world that usability is not optional.
• Jeffrey Zeldman – For championing web standards before it was cool, and long after.
• Joel Spolsky – For explaining software in plain English, and reminding developers that users don’t read manuals.
• Eric Meyer – For explaining CSS before anyone else even knew what it stood for.
• Dave Shea – For showing, way back in 2003, that CSS could be expressive without being excessive.

Also worth saluting is GrahamTheDev and his gloriously profane website, and its equally foul-mouthed predecessors. Without their blazing middle fingers, the Plain Old Web might never have raised its disapproving eyebrow.

Finally, if the pixel portrait used on this site feels reminiscent of Jeffrey Zeldman’s long-standing 8-bit likeness, you’re not imagining it. The image was generated by ChatGPT, possibly nudged by a prior mention of his name in the same session. It wasn’t meant as a copy, but given his influence on the modern web (and this site’s outlook), it’s not surprising if the pixels decided to pay tribute on their own.