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Wazillion Why Can't a RingMaster See the Navbar on New and Suspended Sites Many ringmasters have written me wondering why they can't see the navbar for their particular webring on new and suspended sites in their Yahoo! WebRing. This article explains that the reason is that they are not supposed to be able to.
Different to the Original WebRing System The new system that Yahoo! WebRing introduced works differently to the Original WebRing system. On the Original WebRing system the ringmaster needed to go to a site to confirm that the WebMaster had added the navigation code before approving a site for membership. This was no longer true with the new Yahoo! WebRing system. At least, not exactly. How the Yahoo! WebRing JavaScript Worked
The webmaster needed to place the JavaScript on his page. But, and this is the important part, he only needed to do it once. Once he had put it on his page, that one piece of JavaScript would automatically suck in every navbar registered to that Yahoo! ID and registered for that particular page. There are two parameters in the JavaScript code: the "Y" parameter and the "U" number. The "Y" parameter turns out to be simply the Yahoo! ID of the member. The "U" number is a seventeen or eighteen-digit number that is assigned to the registered URL. These two values, the "Y" parameter and the "U" number, let the JavaScript say to the Yahoo! WebRing system:
This let a single JavaScript code create an entire navbar stack. Want an example? Check out this navbar stack. This stack of (now a part of the WebRing.com system) is created with just one JavaScript. (The WebRing.com system continues to use this JavaScript development.) What Are the Parts of the Navbar Stack? There were two primary parts of a navbar stack:
The navbar stack shell was the gray border that surrounded the individual navbars. The navbar stack shell would exist once the JavaScript was placed on the page, even if no webrings in the Yahoo! WebRing system had been approved. If there were no approved webrings in the Yahoo! WebRing system, the navbar stack shell would just exist as a single narrow bar. But that would alert a ringmaster that at least some JavaScript had been placed on the page. The individual navbars were the webring name, optional picture, ringmaster Yahoo! ID and the links for each individual Yahoo! WebRing. When Did an Individual Navbar Appear? That depended. For the world at large, an individual navbar appeared after membership had been approved. The world at large could not see an individual navbar until membership has been approved. However, the member might have been able to see the individual navbar before it has been approved. If the member was signed in to Yahoo! using the same Yahoo! ID as was used to register the webring membership, then Yahoo! WebRing would display the navbar even if it has not yet been approved. This "feature" caused lots of confusion. The member could see the navbar but no one else could, and most importantly, the ringmaster couldn't. You can imagine the emails that went back forth trying to explain this. So What Should a RingMaster Have Checked? If the ringmaster couldn't check the existence of a navbar, what could a ringmaster check? The ringmaster could review the site generally for admittance. The ringmaster could also look to see if there was a navbar stack on the page, even an empty stack consisting just of the navbar stack shell. That would indicate that the member has installed some JavaScript on the page. But it did not necessarily indicate that the correct JavaScript has been installed. How Could It Be Wrong JavaScript? Assuming that a navbar stack appeared (even an empty one), two basic things could be wrong:
I have assisted ringmasters with both of these problems. Wrong Yahoo! ID In the first case, the person had registered for another webring using one Yahoo! ID and had the navbar stack on the page showing that navbar. Then that person registered for another webring using a new Yahoo! ID. The person did not realize that using a second ID would require a second set of JavaScript. The result is that the ringmaster saw a navbar stack, but after approving the membership, the navbar did not appear. The reason is that navbar stack was for the other Yahoo! ID and the JavaScript for the second Yahoo! ID had not been placed on the page. Wrong URL In this case the person had registered the main page of their site for another Yahoo! WebRing. But they put the JavaScript on their webring page. Then when they joined the second Yahoo! WebRing they registered the webring page. The result is that the ringmaster saw a navbar stack, but after approving the membership, the navbar did not appear. The reason is that navbar stack was for the other registered URL. How Fast Would the Individual Navbar Appear? Certainly within 24 hours. Usually within a few minutes. This means that after approval, a ringmaster could easily check back right away to see if the navbar appeared. Also, the ringmaster had the new Yahoo! WebRing Automated Management System (AMS). What Did the AMS Do? The AMS checked member sites to ensure that the JavaScript existed. If it determined that the required JavaScript code did not appear it would "mark" that site as "broken". A ringmaster could use the Manage Members function to see all member sites that were "broken" and take appropriate action. Also a ringmaster could use the same page to ask the AMS to retest a site. What About Browsers That Do Not Support JavaScript? Some browsers do not support JavaScript. One of the largest groups of such browsers are browsers used by the sight impaired. That is one reason that United States and international accessibility standards mandate alternative navigation for sites using JavaScript. Yahoo! WebRing never did provide navbar support of any kind for non-JavaScript browsers. The result was that navbar stacks could not be seen by or accessed by the sight impaired using such browsers. Although this site, the Refrigerator Door, has always attempted to comply with such accessibility standards, it was not possible to comply and use the Yahoo! WebRing navbar system. (I addressed accessibility in general and this particular limitation on my page Disclaimers, Copyrights and Other Legal Stuff.) Summary RingMasters needed to learn to not expect to see the individual navbar for a Yahoo! WebRing before the site was approved. The navbar only appeared after the site is approved. And, if a ringmaster suspended the site because the navbar did not appear, the ringmaster could not expect to be able to see it before he readmitted the site. It would only appear after he readmitted the site.
The Wazillion Navbars Project Webring Sections and Subsections The Webring Section is a large section of my website. I have divided it into four major "subsections".
Each "subsection" has it's own special "logo". As you travel in the various subsections you will find, near the bottom of each page, links to pages within that subsection and also links to the other subsections. To go to any subsection, just click on the "logo" or on the text link for that subsection.
Webrings: General Information This subsection includes general information about webrings. Webrings can be hosted by a variety of different services. This section deals with the overall concepts and issues, not with any one particular "brand" of webring. It includes my Webring FAQ, links to articles about webrings, and general help information. Click here or on the graphic.
The WebRing.com System This subsection includes specific information about the WebRing.com system. While not the only webring system on the net, it is the best known and the most used. I own many webrings in this system and belong to many webrings in this system. (I also own and belong to many webrings in other systems as well.) Click here or on the graphic.
Webrings I Own and Belong To This subsection shows all the webrings I own and links to all the webrings to which I belong. This includes webrings in Ringlink, RingSurf, Bravenet and the WebRing.com system as well. If you are looking to join one of my webrings, this is a good place to start. If you wonder about the webrings I belong to, this is the place to go. Click here or on the graphic. |
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This page created: before Wed, 13.Dec.2000
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