<blink> tag in HTML is BAD!
By Hervé Deschamps, Oracle Corporation.
I got a report from http://websitegarage.netscape.com
that the HTML tag blink was proprietary to Netscape. Also a colleague reminded
me of this issue so I decided to do a bit of research. Well, I had not
idea that this tag was so BAD!!!
Here are a few extracts of my research:
Tag "blink" is not supported by
-
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
-
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0
-
America Online 3.0
-
America Online 4.0
-
WebTV
The <BLINK> tag should never be used. Unless your trying
to show how annoying it is, then it's OK right? When Mark Andreesson (co-founder
of Netscape Communications) was asked about the BLINK tag he said it was
put in "as a joke." It only works in Netscape so you lose information with
other browsers, and it is just plain annoying.
Blink is by far and without a doubt the most hated proprietary
element ever created. Anything contained in this element will blink on
and off in Netscape, creating an effect that might seem useful at first,
but gets annoying pretty fast. Do not use this element, ever. If you really
want something to blink, then I suggest you think it over and still not
use this element.
Hervé Deschamps is a Technical Manager with
Oracle Corporation. Over the years he has developed a number of applications
using Oracle Development Tools and others. He has an extensive experience
of all phases of the development life cycle. He is also known in the technical
community for his article publications centered around best custom development
practices and for his user group presentations. You can reach him by e-mail
at hdescham@us.oracle.com. He also maintains a web site full of articles,
scripts, tips and techniques at http://www.iherve.com.