A few words about web usability

Given the past two posts about the demise of Google Reader and Digg's foray into the world of RSS readers, I thought I should say something about web usability. The reason I publish the full feed here is because I prefer to read blogs through a reader or some other third party that I can control. I know that's  not going to garner me many fans, and yes, I'm probably stiffing bloggers on hits, but sometimes it's the best option.

For those with older computers, or older operating systems, newsreaders are an easy way to read blogs without worrying about crashing. People who can't afford constant the upgrades are increasingly left out of the online world, and I want to makes sure the woman on the crappy machine with a geriatric OS and browser can still read my site if she wants to. ('Cause that's been me.)

Also, readers are a lifesaver (or a sight saver) for people with vision problems The quickest way to lose me as a reader is to have white text on a dark background. There are a few blogs I like that do this, and I have no choice but to read them through a feed reader. People with astigmatism sometimes see halos around text, particularly light text on a darker background. (Don't even get me started on the tiny print on a lot of Tumbr blogs.)

In short, cleaner and less cluttered is always better. I removed some of the third-party apps I'd been using because it was slowing things down on my end, and I figured it was probably doing to the same on someone else's. Print shouldn't be impossibly tiny, and a dark words on a lighter background is usually better. (I say usually because I know at least one blogger who actually finds the opposite easier to read.) This late in the game, there shouldn't be any need for a refresher course, but every so often I happen upon a blog I really like but physically can't read.