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Site Review: 2002 Olympics
Andy King writes: "If Olympic Web sites were an event, Salt Lake wouldn't even
take the bronze. Our review reveals some gnarly accessibility
moguls." There's another review of the site which mentions the many accessibility problems that the Sydney Olympics had with its website. The site doesn't appear to work at all with konqueror.
And yet, amazingly, it renders perfectly in Mozilla. Go figure.
The biggest accessibility mogul in my mind, though it really doesn't have to do with the usability of the site per se, is the restrictive conditions put on independent Web media reporting on the games. I believe the IOC did not give credentials to most Web media and have been very active in shutting down and censoring both pro-athlete fan sites and anti-IOC sites. (In fact, wasn't there an athlete who was enjoined from posting even an Olympic diary, Weblog style, for fear of IOC reprisals? Someone refresh me on the details if this rings a bell.)
Anyway, expect the only thing on the Web related to Olympic results of stories is the officially santioned site and NBC and the big media outlets who paid out their butts to cover the games. Everyone else is shut out. That's my accessibility mogul. (Gah--can we fire whoever came up with that expression?)
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
What do you expect. If you make a product that competes agressively, and you spent money to buy the rights to show the olympics online, are you going to cater to your product or to all?
Sure, your conscience says "To all, because that's what the olympics stand for!" But in capitalists minds, its "Crush the competition"
In the end, its both legal, and the way of our economy. So, basically, "tough sh*t".
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
One of the greatest features of the Sydney 2000 website, was the "... By Country" - So I could select my country (Denmark) and I would get access to all the information that involved the danish athletes.
I was in Nevada on an extended vacation when they were hiring for the lead on this project, I thought well if they pay over 120k ill live in SLC with my family for a year. I sent in a resume for kicks and grins, we discussed pay and they said with my experience that wouldnt be a problem and was promtly called in for an interview. It wasnt in the door 60 seconds when I realized they dont have a clue . It was a NIGHTMARE of politics and group confusion. I left and thought yeah a cold day in hell before Id do that, I told them I wasnt interested and was still called back several times. POLITICS reighn supreme in SLC when it has ANYTHING to do with the Olympics, Mormons were running the show, no ifs and or buts, the labor for everything was based on nepotism. My family has ins out there and told me what was actually happening behind the scence, I didnt belive it UNTIL I went to the interview.
A camel is a racehorse built by a commitee, On guy says, it needs big feet for traction, another sys, it needs long legs so it can run fast, another says it need big nostrils so it can breathe well while sprinting, You END up with a CAMEL, The olympic web site is no different....
Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
The site doesn't appear to work at all with konqueror.
When the amount of money that konqueror users are going to spend at the games starts to match the amount of money that Windows users are going to spend at the games, you'll see some changes. Whining about entitlements will get you nowhere. I'm willing to bet that they feel they don't have time to worry about piddling issues like whether or not their website is w3c compliant or whatever.
Now, the Mac users have a legitimate gripe. But konqueror/galleon/mozilla/etc. users? I'm an open-source fanatic, but even I'm not going to get pissy that someone else's business plan doesn't involve catering to people in one of the smallest market demographics.
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charlton heston is more of a man than yo
This is the first year that IBM didn't do the site, so it's not suprising that these probems exist.
The (Hopefully) Great Slashdot Blackout Apr 21-27
I find it funny that the reviewer's site uses one of those annoying and browser-crushing floating backgrounds that doesn't scroll when you go through the page....
when salmon are outlawed, only outlaws will have salmon
Not only do I question the "Site Review" category as "Stuff that matters," but the article seems overly nitpicky to me.
Come on folks, Frames are not only accepted and common, but part of the w3 spec since 1997. JavaScript? The DOM has been standardized for at least as long and JavaScript support has been available (funky, but basically available) since 2.0 browsers... PDF? Well, a fine solution for encapsulated, printable documents (like maps?!!)
I'm all for accessibilty, but this site doesn't seem to be unfairly limiting to me... unless you're using lynx...
Guvegrra?
and the olympics are on the other side of the globe? the only way we could watch them is by staying up till 3:00 in the morning?
2 25 4&mode=thread
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/01/18/074
Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
Besides, for political impact, Tommie Smith's 1968 protest was the equal of Jesse, to my mind.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
After attempting to get W3.org's HTML validator to check the entire page, I finally just checked the main frame. Notice that I had to force HTML 4.01 Frameset, since the document does not include its own DOCTYPE.
Results can be found at this link. Needless to say, the site failed miserably, even with Frameset set.
iCab's built in HTML checker found 238 errors in the main frame alone, not to mention the dozens of errors in the surrounding frames.
Note that I am not suggesting that the writers are ever going to write strict HTML or XHTML (although they should for accessability), but that writing *such bad* HTML that some browsers choke on it is simply unacceptable *for anyone*, especially a web page like the Winter Olympics site.
- (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
Yes their are many many sites that have very similar problems, but in my opinon (and from the looks of it many others too), a site that is intended for a world wide audince should make considerations for the wold.
If msnb.com (or insert site here) wants to do some funky magic to make a site that might not work on my Kongueror or Mozilla browser that is fine with me I will just not go to that site after all many sites have news. It is when the offical site for the 2002 olympic winter games makes no considerations for even things such as language devides I feel it is wong.
Just my 2 cents though I suppose
man
No manual entry for
In prior years, the olympics.com sites were handled by IBM. They did a great job, considering the way that the web and the Internet were growing through those years. Here's a report they created discussing the their "User-Centered" design approach. For a cool example of a portion of the site targeted for the people at the events, check out the details of the regional weather site they did.
They broke several Internet world-records each year (most hits in a day, hits per minute, etc) they ran the technology using the Lotus Notes Domino servers on RS/6000. The story I heard was that IBM had faced all the tech challenges it wanted to, and that the inter-personal challenges were making their involvement in upcoming olympics less attractive (ie NBC being a pain). I remember at the time that I chuckled to myself "lets see who else thinks they can pull this one off!"
Now that Microsoft is involved (remember when they blocked non-IE browsers from their MSN site?) I'm not surprised at the results so far.
p.s. The fact that the site is not international, here in the year 2002, is an absolute shame! Hell, the 1998 site was at least in English French AND Japanese !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
By using the official languages only, they avoid several problems. If they used only the "major" languages of Europe, complaints from other peoples of the world would rightfully come rolling in. Similarly, I doubt they have the budget or the resources to make a translation for everyone. By sticking to the official languages, they're avoiding any sign of favoritism or any Euro-centric or Amero-centric prejudices. Or at least they can plausibly deny such prejudices. ;)
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
>The problems really started in 1976. The Montreal games were a financial disaster (it is rumoured that the city still hasn't fully settled the account).
:) ) but the subsequent mayors didn't do a good job at managing the money and investing it at the right places, so the olympics were a financial catastrophy, yes, but it was great to map montreal in the world, in that respect, it was a success, people tend to think only at one side of the medal, it's always easier to blame the predecessor than to innovate or do something simple to fix/patch the mistakes. It's like that minister who cutted millions of dollar in health ressources and got her office remade for 300,000$, these people aren't seeing past their mendate, the guy who brought us the olympics, expo 67 and the subways, did, the others after had 25 years to do something about the debt and/or repay it, they never payed anything until recently, so no wonder it's a HUGE bill. This is just plain bad administration.
About that quote, on a side note:
We're still paying taxes for the Olympic Stadium that is falling in rumble bits by bits. The montreal Expo baseball club isn't working anymore (i.e. very very low attendance) and it's the tax payers that are suffering from this terrible debt. Since January 1st, they've forced all the cities on the Ilsand to become only 1 big city, politics wants to to think that it's better for the economy, in the real world, it's more like all the surrounding cities were richer and better managed while montreal was going down in debts, that decision was forced upon the other cities, which strongly opposed to that because their citizens knew this meant transferring money to montreal's hole, and reduction in quality of services and probably tax increases.
The mayor who started this fusion project didn't get re-elected, the mayor who fought to get the olympic games in montreal was a visionnary, he really brought a lot to the city (yeah, and debts too
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
This is from:
Burn the Olympics page
Ten reasons to BURN the Olympics: A call to action
The Olympics are about money
The Games are "given" to the city that shells out the biggest bribes, tax money that could be better spent on community programs to help those who need it the most. While big business profits from increased tourism, the public is stuck with a bill for 1.3 billion.
The Olympics are for the rich
The IOC feeds us lies about bringing growth and sporting arenas for the citizens of Salt Lake. However, the venues built for the games are later only used by the super-elite and wealthy. The Olympics squander public funds to host an event that most people can't even afford to attend.
The Olympics are sexist
Baron de Courbertin, founder of the IOC, was a French chauvinist who hated women. He felt that "The Olympic Games must be reserved for men." Since then (1896), women have slowly been included in more events, but there are still far more men's competitions.
The Olympics promote spectatorship
The Games do not help aspiring athletes, but instead get us to watch TV. The Olympics want people glued to their televisions so they can absorb advertisements. By placing athletes on pedestals, people are disempowered by being convinced that they must buy things to get closer to the gold.
The Olympics are about corporate sponsorship
Corporate sponsors and the media make billions from selling people worthless consumer junk, and they are salivating over this opportunity to pitch their products to billions worldwide. The Games are no longer about sports, but just another medium for marketing.
The Olympics destroy the environment
With the massive temporary influx of people coming to Utah this February, and Salt Lake's lousy public transit, the roads will be packed with cars. Ski resorts and other outdoor event sites are built in places where trees
and animals should be living, not swarming with yuppies.
The Olympics fuel nationalism
The image of the Games that is being pushed by the IOC of countries getting together in times of peace is completely false. The actual dynamic perpetuates nationalistic feelings and bitterness. What the people need is worldwide solidarity, not worldwide competition.
The Olympics celebrate globalization
Like the WTO or FTAA, the Olympics place private interests above all other concerns. Public money is diverted to generate profit for multinationals. Protecting people and the environment are second to investment dollars in the eyes of state officials. Not only this, but the Olympics turn it into a celebration.
The Olympics create a police state
The Utah Olympic Public Safety Command (UOPSC) and the Olympic Joint Terrorism Task Force (OJTTF) are in place to take away your right to free speech, expression, and movement. They are already working to stop legal protests through new laws and arrests. With the actions against the World Trade Center and Pentagon, we will now be seeing a police state of the nature that most activists in North American have never witnessed.
The Olympics drive out "undesirables"
The homeless will be swept off the streets and kept out of the city where they might bother shoppers. SLOC's plans for the homeless include housing them in the State Fair horse barns or letting them "camp" in freezing weather on Antelope Island. Protesters will also be out of view from tourists.
Come to Salt Lake City
Join tens of thousands of undesirables to take a stand against the 2002 Winter Games. Activists will be converging in Utah to expose and oppose the true capitalistic nature of the Olympics. Housing and ride shares are being compiled, if you need or can offer either, contact us.
Who we are and what we do
This information is provided by Build Underground Resistance Not the Olympics (BURN the Olympics). We are working to educate, agitate, and organize for the Salt Lake City Olympics in February of 2002. BURN the Olympics has been initiated by radicals who are not resigned to sit back and watch our city turn into a playground for the rich. We plan on using diverse tactics to tackle the multinational death machine that is killing the planet.
Contact us
Email: olympics@anarchist.co.uk Our PGP key can be be found here
Mailing address:
Subvert
PO Box 1112
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
I was told that the idea of the Olympic and the charter is to ensure that sport is available to everyone, or as many people as possible. By limiting the sources of information, the accessibility of sport is decreased and this is therefore against the olympic charter.
This was what I was told around 5 years ago.
Against my better judgement, I'm gonna respond (just like you were trolling for- shame on me). Ohh- this should be fun.
The most important parts of the downtown area are speech-restricted (Really! With guards and everything!)
Entire blocks, huh? Just to clarify for people that might not know what happened, the mormon church bought the 1 block street between its headquarters building and 'Temple Square' and made it into a little flower garden/pedestrian park. The ACLU was pissed that there were 'no smoking' signs there, and the mormon church responded that it was a guideline that probably wouldnt be enforced. There are security guards at Temple Square to prevent vandalism and stuff, but thats about it. Oh, and if you want coffee in downtown SLC, try one of Starbucks 13 SLC locations.
Over 95% of all government (local, city, county, state, plus senators and congressmen sent to DC) of Utah are Mormon.
A majority of Utahns are mormon- it makes sense that the majority of the government reps are mormon too, don't you think? Simple math...
At job interviews for private industry in Utah, you will be asked what (Mormon) ward you belong to
What kind of job where you applying for? I've had 2 software jobs in Utah and interviewed at several other companies, and I have never been asked anything close to what you describe. In fact, it wasnt until I interviewed with a large tech company in CA that I had to take a drug test. And its funny, my offices have always had designated smoking areas and coffee pots in the break room too...
You soon learn to judge immediately in your dealings whether the person you're talking to is Mormon or non-Mormon. If they're Mormon and you're non, you mentally give up and move on to the next task of the day
Wow- with an attitude like that, maybe you are part of the problem?
In most of Utah, you cannot buy real beer, but must by "special" beer with limited alcohol content
"Special" beer? You mean 3.2 beer? I grew up in Colorado where unless you have a liqueur license, you can only sell 3.2 (or less) alcoholic drinks from 5 am to 12 midnight. Liqueur stores can sell anything, but they have to be closed on Sunday. Its the same thing in Utah. And funny you should mention Rocky Anderson- the non-mormon mayor of SLC (who is very popular, btw). And guess what? His alcohol law changes were approved- either the mormon church doesnt have as much influence as you seem to think or they were not opposing it as much as you thought (it was a combination of both, actually).
If you have children, they will have no friends in school
I don't have any kids, so I don't know first hand what the schools are like. I do know several public school teachers, though, and they would strongley disagree with your charactization. And what kind of religious activity during school hours are you talking about? Thats illegal in Utah just like the rest of the country and it doesnt happen. Christmas vacation is called 'Winter Break' here too.
I think you get my drift...
"The defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom" - George W Bush