Comments on: Getting really ready: Don’t rely on Homeland Security

By: Ready.gov “inaccuracies, incomplete information” embarrass Homeland Security - Homeland Stupidity

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 23:08:53 +0000

[...] The Department of Homeland Security was sorely embarrassed by an announcement by the Federation of American Scientists that the DHS web site ready.gov contained “inaccuracies and incomplete information,” so much so that it launched a counterattack on FAS. [...]

By: Paulison: Increase the size of FEMA - Homeland Stupidity

Paulison: Increase the size of FEMA - Homeland Stupidity — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 08:01:56 +0000

[...] In the meantime, you should get really ready for the next disaster. Filed under: Politics, Homeland Security, Terrorism, Hurricane Katrina [...]

By: Jordan Freeland

Jordan Freeland — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 23:35:32 +0000

Mike Shentel, you obviously don’t understand the issue at hand here. Actually you’re starting to sound like a bureaucrat who just bickers and whines about worthless subjects. I don’t friggin care if ready.gov has spotless code or if it was designed by some stupid contracter for $5mil, but the information is still wrong.

All I can do is laugh.

By: Michael Hampton

Michael Hampton — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:09:09 +0000

I can only hope that ready.gov updates their information. But I don’t have much hope. They’ve had a couple of years to get it right.

By: mike shentel

mike shentel — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 18:35:02 +0000

michael, i’m just an everyday html coder, and when the site went live a few weeks ago… naturally, the css and coding was the first thing i looked at… not even the content. and, from a coding perspective, it’s a HUGE step.

as for the content… i’m sure that it’ll be updated and tweaked over time if enough attention is brought to it.

By: Michael Hampton

Michael Hampton — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:54:53 +0000

Mike, next time, please make full disclosure of your personal interest in the matter. :) Or at least the government agency you work for.

First, making a site that simply looks good (which DHS actually did manage to do) is one thing. But you failed to address the issue of the inaccurate and potentially deadly misinformation on ready.gov. What good is a site that validates as XHTML 1.0 Transitional if the information on it gets you killed?

Second, it apparently is very difficult (for the government) to create a site based on CSS and XHTML, as ready.gov seems to be just about the only one. Other sites in Homeland Security use 1996-era tables and spacer GIFs for their layout.

Finally, I don’t really care what the site looks like. The most important thing here is good, reliable information, something it seems you’ll never get from the government.

Why do you suppose that is?

By: mike shentel

mike shentel — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:45:58 +0000

the problem with this crap really ready.org site is this:
1) how tough is it to just COPY a friggin design and reword it?
2) apparently, the original ready.gov site was actually hand-coded (meaning it was done correctly by a pro) and is actually considered a top-notch website from a development perspective because it is entirely CSS-based, Validates (see W3C), and follows Section508 government standards (for blind folk). Oh, did we mention it even looks good across all browsers and platforms?
3) Can your intern do all that? did your intern take all those factors when recoding the site, and handling all the photoshop files? Hell, i don’t even see where the simple lines even MATCH UP… c’mon, give us a break.

If you or your intern can do better, then contact the ready folk directly and offer your help (their info is right on their site)… and, yes, they anser.

As for your intern, he/she deserves to work for a company or firm that DOES NOT promote artistic plagiarism.

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 01:02:18 +0000

Every word probably had to pass through committe. That’s why, thankfully, hardly anything actually ever gets done in this country.