LYNX-DEV Lynx-challenged sites (frames)

[Philip Webb]

970829 Adam Lloyd wrote: 
> Some web pages sites with frames say SORRY your browser doesn't frames
> is this normal?

you seem to have missed the very recent thread on this (see Archive).
what seems to be happening -- eg at  www.newscientist.com  -- is
that auto-generated sites made with software from Big Browser Inc
have a built-in notice to respond to most other browsers,
regardless of their actual capabilities,
warning their users to getabetabrowser, ie Big Browser or the like.

there are  2  things to be said in reply:
(1) these sites do in fact present links to the individual frames,
so in practice there's no real problem for users of Lynx 2-7-1 ;
but (2) BBI's behaviour is reprehensible & undermines the Internet.

THIS (2) -- rather than the recent self-righteous preaching by Fote --
is the real issue for Lynx developers & users.
BBI should not -- & should not be allowed to -- use its commercial muscle
to prevent or deter other software which complies with Internet rules
from being used by the Internet community.

faking one's ID as Mozilla (eg) is a very mild response to BBI's activity:
what they're doing is far worse than some tiny theoretical copyright sin;
e-mailing the site admin usually gets a polite & often pre-written e-reply,
but little or nothing in the way of action (eg me with New Scientist).

a better long-term defense of the public interest in the Internet is
to support people like  www.teleport.com/~kford/webwatch.htm
&  server.berkeley.edu/~cdaveb/anybrowser.html ,
with possible legal threats by the blind relying on ADA.

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