Over the last couple of months a troubling trend has been developing. Whether it came in the form of possibly shutting down a CSS gallery or posting that there were “more important things” to address, some people think that we don’t have to champion web standards anymore. There are plenty of posts out there that present arguments why we should still champion standards – but none really address 1) Why people who are presented with standards sometimes reject the idea or 2) Why the speed at which standards are adopted seems to have dropped. Here are my unfiltered reasons why the people who know the most sometimes do the most damage.

Arrogance

A few months ago I sent an e-mail to some former employees about career development. I pulled a piece from that e-mail that I think fits this topic. Note: Some words and names have been changed to protect the innocent.

In the words of M- “Dude Don’t be a Jerk”. You know what? This really should be #1. No one likes an arrogant jackass. We all know at least one super talented person who for all intents and purposes kill a lot of opportunities because they can’t see the dangerous of their own arrogance and ego. No one give a crap about what you know until they know you will be considerate and humble. You deal with people and people like to work with people who are cool and great to work with. Be confident but really…dude don’t be a jerk.

People don’t listen to you when you are a jerk – even when you have something good to say.

Preaching to the choir or the parable of the lost sheep

It really bugs me when people say they evangelize standards when they don’t bother to talk to people outside their circle of friends who also call themselves standards evangelists. It’s a shame that some people don’t know that an evangelist has to go and teach to those who don’t know, not get pats on the back from people who already know and follow what you are teaching.

People don’t like to be sold but they like to buy

Nearly every sales person, project manager, designer and developer I know misses this one. People don’t care about what you’re selling - only what they are buying. This statement basically means that you have to be able to provide useful, educational information that places their “buying� motives at the forefront. With that being said, Stop preaching standards for standards sake. The real benefits of standards have absolutely nothing to do with not using tables or perfect validation. Not trying to give a sales lesson here but tableless layout and perfection validation sound like features not benefits. The difference between getting someone to use standards and not is sometimes the difference between creating the environment where they are willing to buy what you have to sell.

Not enough focus on the non-professional

It’s no secret that I think the quality of training for college students planning a career in web design or development needs to improve. I also think that some of the energy that we expend teaching professionals about standards needs to be dedicated to teaching the next generation of web professionals who are still in school.