I'm exploring the evolution of web design as a historian of medicine and I've recently dove into digital humanities methods. While working on a network graph project, I realized that a lot of links were missing. Upon examining the HTML, it seems many of these missing connections are tied to JavaScript functions like JavaScript:MakeRel and JavaScript:onClick. I'm curious if there are any resources available that can help me understand this historical aspect of web design.
3 Answers
You're likely seeing the remnants of early 2000s web design, where tools like Dreamweaver played a big role. It was common to see inline `onClick` events combined with JavaScript functions. Many times, this led to a messy implementation without clear navigation links. If you're interested in this topic, I recommend checking out resources on HTML4, and design trends of the 2000s. It was all very inventive but not very practical!
It really was a chaotic time back in the day! The web was like the wild west, and using inline JavaScript for links was common practice. Check out this old Stack Overflow thread for more on it, plus MDN docs that explain how JavaScript and inline events were often used instead of traditional anchor tags. It led to links that didn’t really behave like links, which is why you’re noticing those missing connections now.
This pattern of using JavaScript for link actions was typical back then. It was more about creating dynamic effects than ensuring proper navigation. Many web designers didn’t consider accessibility or SEO, which explains the issue with those missing links you're seeing now. It's a fascinating shift in practices for sure!
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