IT IS NOT “IRONIC” when an article about web standards is published in an online magazine formatted in Flash, or PDF, or some other non-HTML format. It is not “ironic” when an article on responsive design appears on a website that is not responsively designed. It is not “ironic” when an article on three essential principles of usability appears on a website that violates all three principles. It is not “ironic” when an article bemoaning the overuse of “Share” buttons appears on a website that overuses “Share” buttons. It is not “ironic” when an article advocating long form reading on the web gets chopped into multiple pages that discourage reading for the sake of a few ad views. It is not “ironic” when an article about microformats appears on a site that does not use microformats. It is not “ironic” when an article advocating HTML5 appears on a website formatted in XHTML. It is not “ironic” when an article about web accessibility appears on a website that suffers from serious accessibility problems. It is not “ironic” when an article about the importance of proper semantic markup appears in a magazine whose markup would make a goat cry. It is not “ironic” when an article about progressive enhancement and unobtrusive scripting appears on a website that fails if the user disables JavaScript.
It is publishing. It is humanity. It is the vanguard of ideas clashing against the rearguard of commerce. This is not new. This is all to be expected. We must stop raising our eyebrows and chuckling at it. We must decide to accept the world as it is, or to roll up our sleeves and help.
