Why Aren't Park Schedules Printer Friendly?
Why? Because most park web sites are designed by hired-gun web page design "experts" who don't understand the concept of "content is king" and "form follows function." You know, those people who think Wired magazine actually looks good (me, I think it looks more like a ransom note...).
They are designed by people who don't understand that not everybody has a color printer, and that maybe, just maybe, people would like to make use of this information other than on-line. They also don't understand that not everybody has a graphic web browser with all the latest plug-ins.
Quite frankly, it's because some web consultants are IDIOTS.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
They are designed by people who don't understand that not everybody has a color printer, and that maybe, just maybe, people would like to make use of this information other than on-line. They also don't understand that not everybody has a graphic web browser with all the latest plug-ins.
Quite frankly, it's because some web consultants are IDIOTS.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
I would think colors in tables isn't terribly... ultra-modern. Tables have been around since Netscape 2, all those eons ago. =)
You need to wake up and smell the x86 series Dave. =)
Why aren't they printable? It's a conspiracy.
BTW - I can print Michigan's Adventure's schedule quite nicely. Even fits on one page.
You need to wake up and smell the x86 series Dave. =)
Why aren't they printable? It's a conspiracy.
BTW - I can print Michigan's Adventure's schedule quite nicely. Even fits on one page.
Exactly.
They don't realize that we print out these schedules and then plan our trips from them when we're at WORK. I sit here in my cube staring at my calendar trying to decide when to plan my flights.
We have a B/W Laser Jet, so the schedules print as shades of black, then I have to write in the letters.
BGW has the best idea. Their schedule fits on a single page and they use SYMBOLS. Wow, what a concept!!!
They don't realize that we print out these schedules and then plan our trips from them when we're at WORK. I sit here in my cube staring at my calendar trying to decide when to plan my flights.
We have a B/W Laser Jet, so the schedules print as shades of black, then I have to write in the letters.
BGW has the best idea. Their schedule fits on a single page and they use SYMBOLS. Wow, what a concept!!!
CF:LP's park websites all feature printer friendly schedules. What park or park chain are you trying to print a schedule of. If its Sixflags, then there your reason why it's not printer friendly. That site has way too many graphics and not enough content.
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"Sit back and hold on tight, cause the Mamba is about to strike."
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"Sit back and hold on tight, cause the Mamba is about to strike."
The real problem is that if they use tables and not graphics, most browsers by default don't print the background colors (you have to turn in on in IE).
The thing is, anything color neutral or in list form isn't as easy to read on screen.
While sites like the Six Flags site (the worst example of top-level navigation ever made) are a mystery to use, I for one don't have a problem with their calendar function.
I understand Dave's frustration, and agree that many designers don't have a clue. However, I will also say that there comes a point where you have to stop making concessions to people using browsers that are four or five years old. Only .1% of CoasterBuzz users use a browser older than IE or Navigator 4.0 (that's probably Dave :)). Also, research shows that 98% of people have Flash installed, and most of the other 2% have browsers clever enough to automatically download the 380k plugin when it is needed. Should sites use Flash? If appropriate, yes, as it's often smaller than GIF's in many points (wait until you see the new SFDL site coming soon).
Like I said, there is a lot of bad design out there, but I don't blame the use of technology.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
The thing is, anything color neutral or in list form isn't as easy to read on screen.
While sites like the Six Flags site (the worst example of top-level navigation ever made) are a mystery to use, I for one don't have a problem with their calendar function.
I understand Dave's frustration, and agree that many designers don't have a clue. However, I will also say that there comes a point where you have to stop making concessions to people using browsers that are four or five years old. Only .1% of CoasterBuzz users use a browser older than IE or Navigator 4.0 (that's probably Dave :)). Also, research shows that 98% of people have Flash installed, and most of the other 2% have browsers clever enough to automatically download the 380k plugin when it is needed. Should sites use Flash? If appropriate, yes, as it's often smaller than GIF's in many points (wait until you see the new SFDL site coming soon).
Like I said, there is a lot of bad design out there, but I don't blame the use of technology.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
...And most of the time I'm using Netscape 4.7, so I can see all that stuff, too. But the fact remains that lots of parks are building websites that are impossible to use. Someone cited Busch Gardens Williamsburg's site...navigation on that site is a little odd, and the frames are (as frames always are) annoying, but indeed, you can print the schedules on an black and white printer. Kings Dominion uses graphics for the schedule, but the graphics are comparable colors which are as difficult on the screen as they are on a printer. Some of us are lucky enough to have color printers at work, but it doesn't help when the webmaster uses the wrong filename so that the June and September schedules don't appear at all (I'm hoping they've fixed that by now...).
But honestly. Paramount's sites are terrible to try and read because of the white-on-yellow color scheme with almost no contrast. Sites that use black backgrounds with white text are a royal pain in the neck because they print as white on white from certain browsers (Such a shame, too, as that's a very legible combination on screen!). Worst of all are the sites that take the information you want to print and put it in a Flash or Javascript application so that you *can't* print it at all.
For me, probably the most annoying thing is when I am sitting at my desk at work and the site won't load at all, or loads so slowly that I might as well have a 300baud acoustic coupler rather than the Ethernet conection I have here. Fortunately, the worst offenders seem to have fixed those problems, although I wish more sites with Flash front pages had "skip intro" buttons on them!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Yup, I'm the one who connects with Lynx 2.7 from time to time... :)
But honestly. Paramount's sites are terrible to try and read because of the white-on-yellow color scheme with almost no contrast. Sites that use black backgrounds with white text are a royal pain in the neck because they print as white on white from certain browsers (Such a shame, too, as that's a very legible combination on screen!). Worst of all are the sites that take the information you want to print and put it in a Flash or Javascript application so that you *can't* print it at all.
For me, probably the most annoying thing is when I am sitting at my desk at work and the site won't load at all, or loads so slowly that I might as well have a 300baud acoustic coupler rather than the Ethernet conection I have here. Fortunately, the worst offenders seem to have fixed those problems, although I wish more sites with Flash front pages had "skip intro" buttons on them!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Yup, I'm the one who connects with Lynx 2.7 from time to time... :)
I'd let Six Flags know, but they don't have an e-mail address. When you click on the Contact word you get the name and address of each park. To write them means sending a real Letter. And then how do we know my letter is going to make it to the web master? I don't, so I won't waste my time. They need an e-mail address for comments. Anyone have an e-mail address for Six Flags that we don't know about?
Paramount? Yes, we can send them an e-mail.
Paramount? Yes, we can send them an e-mail.
Wow, I'm not alone! I printed out SFGAdv's too at work and sat there with a bunch of different color highlighters and colored each block with the appropriate shade. I plan seven months of my life around this calendar!!! It would be tremendously helpful to have it just print right in the first place!!!
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