Not up to standard

I was looking for a new computer table for my studio. I Googled for pages in Singapore, but saw an intriguing-looking article by the Computer Times (now called Digital Life) on creating web pages.
Dated February 2004, I was surprised and slightly perturbed at the statement, “When building a website, keep in mind that everything is formatted in table form.” (Oops. My own website doesn’t use tables. How??) Fortunately he does warn against using too many nested tables.
However, I was encouraged to read the first sentence on CSS: “Think of CSS as a master template.” However, I soon realised that IRAS aren’t the only ones who have a limited concept of stylesheets. The writer advises readers to use stylesheets to change text formatting and link hover effects. Which is true, but there’s so much more you can do with it. This is ‘pre-elementary’ (and unfortunately most agencies in Singapore only seem to know how to do this*).
And let’s not get into the advice on image rollovers and javascript tickers. That is so 1990’s.
Of course this is a beginner’s article and most beginners would probably start off by using tables and whatever HTML editor gives them the visual effects they want. And no journalist is necessarily an expert in their field of work. Further research is difficult especially with tight deadlines. But it’s slightly annoying to read something that’s already out of date the moment it was written.
And what about usability? Browser compliance? Accessibility? Well-written web content? I’d think these would be more important than any fanciful effects on a web page.
Maybe one day, someone should write an article on how the rest of the developed world has been catching on to new coding techniques and approaches, while most of commercial and public Singapore is still left behind.
*If you know of any agencies with a semblance of familiarity with web standards, stylesheets, accessibility and usability, please let me know … I’m dying to meet them.