I very much agree. HTML isn't a page description language, nor should it try
to be. If someone wants to produce a web page with fine-grained control over
the visual appearance, they should use a representation designed for the job
(like Acrobat, or a big mapped image). The whole idea of structure-based
markup is that the *reader* is who defines the style of presentation.
Background textures, colors, Netscape's font-size abomination, etc. all
violate this basic principle.
There is a place for "cool" visual effects and precise control over
presentation. HTML is not that place, in my opinion. Things like Acrobat,
client-side image maps, and the like are.
Amanda Walker
InterCon Systems Corporation