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Brett_Tabke - 11:27 am on Mar 26, 2001 (gmt 0)
For many, the problems with FrontPage go well beyond the code it generates. Although, I am no open source Zealot, the arguments and evidence put forth by the OS community are very convincing. Embrace, Extend, Extinguish MS's internet strategy was to wrestle control over the internet, by taking over internet standards. By their own admission it was called the 3E strategy: Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish. They would embrace net standards, then extend those standards with proprietary extensions, and finally extinguish them with 100% MS control over those standards. Embrace Extend Those changes show up today as problems when trying to use non Microsoft products. For example, most nonIE users have problems when trying to connect to any Microsoft operated site. MS operated sites are heavy in proprietary extensions. If it were not for browser sniffing and code delivery by MS themselves, even Netscape users would not be able to use MS.com, HotMail, Expedia.com, or MSNBC. Most good sites with alert webmasters will correct the problems inherent in using FrontPage to keep their sites compatible with alternative browsers. Extinguish Thus, with MS having no constraints, they are free to vent their anger on the net. Enter, IE6 and the next version of windows due out this fall. Where does an 800lb gorilla set? Any where it wants too. I think the next version of Windows will be the beginning of the extinguish phase in earnest. It will signal the death nail for many alternative products including browsers. I can foresee MS extending every protocol on the net from HTTP to massive HTML extensions. I think we will see an IE and FrontPage/Office combo that will systematically extend each and every html, css, and http protocol entity available. Specifics Specifics problems are very hard to detail because each alternative product tends to have a unique set of problems when trying to access a FrontPage generated site. Many believe that MS intentionally created those problems to attack one alternative product at a time. While Netscape users have a set of problems with FrontPage code, Opera has another. SEO Problems with FrontPage There is also the competitive nature of Search Engines to consider. Do you support your competitors on your pages? It is no different with the search engines. Why should search engines support their prime competitor Microsoft? If search engines can control who gets traffic, then it is clear they would choose to send traffic to those who support them. SEO Problems with NT Servers FrontPage Users I completely agree that the attitude is wrong. We need to take more time to point out as specifically as possible, the problems using FrontPage and it's extensions and not just criticize or damn it out-of-hand. We also need to separate the product from the user. There are many new net users who have no idea of the problems FrontPage has caused and feel it is not only the right thing to use, but that they are safe in using it. Those people shouldn't be written off or criticized for using FP, but instead, it's an education opportunity. Alternatives Thanks for the thought provoking posts.
Thank you Linda and Woz for the wake up call. We may have given the impression that we were judging the user based on the software they choose to use. If so, that was an oversight - not intentional.
It is believed by many (including the administration of the W3C), that FrontPage was designed as part of Microsofts 3E strategy to make the internet dependant upon all Microsoft products.
The Embrace phase would include working all current standards into Microsoft products at 100% support to meet the standard. Much of that was done around IE3 and 95B. It was an effort to support existing MS customers and begin to make them dependant upon MS for support and future upgrades (eg: The First Time is Free). Those early products in various forms included IE3 (an outstanding browser) and early editions of Outlook Express, MSII WebServer, and FrontPage.
The Extend phase included slight modifications to all net protocols through the above products in a attempt to make them incompatible with other standard products. Those modifications included extensions to HTML, HTTP, Email/Usenet standards, and other core protocols.
The extinguish phase has inadvertently begun. I don't think MS ever thought it would be so easy to remove Netscape and other products as a viable competitors. It is looking like the DOJ in the MS Anti trust trial under the new administration is going to "pull a hamstring" and let MS off with a slap on the wrist. If you've been watching this portion of the appeals process, you can see a completely new Microsoft - a Microsoft who's action signal one thing: we're pissed.
Many of us view FrontPage usage as support for the MS 3E strategy. It is supporting nothing short of the take over of the internet through obfuscation of the HTML protocol. Using FrontPage and it's extensions is an attack against your fellow net users who choose to use alternative net standard supporting products.
There is also the search engine optimization problems associated with Front Page sites. Search engine spiders and indexers are nothing but rudimentary browsers and one or two may have difficulty with Microsoft HTML as generated by FrontPage.
I think most older SEO personnel have discovered over the years that search engines do indeed take notice of what product generated the html they are downloading and what web server was used to server the code. Most agree that if you have a website on an NT server, the same site will rank higher on a Apache server.
Whether right or wrong, yes most older technical people do tend to look down our nose at FrontPage users. Generally, FP users fall into either the corporate clueless that mindlessly use Microsoft products because they know no better, or the New User that knows no better and just needs a webpage.
There are many alternatives available to FP, including the outstanding products such as DreamWeaver, or Homesite. Some have their own set of problems and probably cost more than the almost free FrontPage, but they are available and produce quality code.