…While contemplating the murder of a web designer

Here’s a list of 10 possible alternatives to do :

1. Browse away and come back

   Sometimes a refresh or re-navigation is in order to get your information and get away from there as quickly as possible before the helpful, “we are taking a survey” or “would you like to chat with a live representative” storm.

2. Keep searching

   Chances are, that you will still need to keep searching (as we all know most of the content on the web is just poorly duplicated ad space and/or porn, and/or spam). You may also want to supplement the information you’ve already gathered. So ditch the poorly designed page for a better (simpler) one.

3. Get coffee

   You will need the caffeine to keep you alert past the first 700 – 800pixels of content devoid “bright, flashy region” before you get to the article title, and the boost in speed and visual acuity will make the scrolling less noticeable and in-content ad dodging a breeze.

4. Be inspired

   Sometimes it takes a traumatic experience to get motivated and do the right thing. What better way to change the world by participating in a better way to go about things? Find alternatives and new methods.

5. Send an email

   Because some of the most hideous crimes against someone’s browsing experience may be the result of uninformed or over-enthusiastic use of available technology… I.E. The Ajax in-window popup. Or, perhaps, the use of JavaScript only navigation menus with no accessible alternative. In 2008, that is inexcusable for any “professional” designer.

6. Browse using an Atom or RSS feed reader

   Even though some designers still find a way to cram their feeds with ads or other useless junk, you are still better off avoiding the full brunt of asinine Web 2.0 fascism. Yes, there are some content providers that don’t include full content in their feeds, but you would have to weigh the benefits of wading through a 60+ keyword tag-cloud vs scanning a page for interesting material first.

7. Apply for a home loan or second mortgage

   The sheer volume of paperwork and redundancy will drain your contempt for humanity faster than it can accumulate. It will also adjust your eyes so that you will find it easier to read sub-microscopic, light-grey, text on an all white background.

8. Run for president

   Of what, I’m not exactly sure. The W3C may not be interested in a second opinion as they are quite content in turning the world upside down for the sake of “semantic correctness” even if it destroys any possibility of adoption. This could be a rebellious trend against the abuses by web designers, so I guess I’m not completely opposed.

9. Move to Botswana

   Nothing says, “I care” like building community projects. And no community project will bring you to the spotlight of the world like one that takes place in a badly need-to-be-saved place. Perhaps you can show off how well you can do better. And listening personally can do wonders to improve your own methods of presenting content.

10. Get over it

    Because, not matter how easy or simple you think it is to do better, someone will find a way to make it worse… The hard way. That’s life.

    And if you had to kill every idiot who worked like that (would solve the world hunger problem) there wouldn’t be anyone around to get any work done.