So big whop. This is markup that most users of my themes may never even notice. I’ve been answering queries ever since implementing hAtom after someone suggested it on Andy’s blog.

Now I came across this extension for Firefox called Operator, which is an extension that reads microformats on a page and then allows you to do all sorts of things with its toolbar. This little tool (by Mike Kaply) is exactly how to illustrate how microformats can be used.

This extension allows me to check the various microformats markup in my themes. Within its options, you can switch it to a Microformats view and also enable some non-default functions, such as hAtom-hFeed and hAtom-hEntry.

Pretty slick. It’ll also allow me to grab hCards (in various formats) straight from a Web page. I really thought that marking up the comment authors names in my themes’ comments.php files was a good idea. Have a look at a (randomly selected) sample:

Here’s the use. Comment authors are no longer reduced to being links. They can be people that you store, reference, and refer back to. Frequent commenters, instead of being strangers, and be referenced in your contacts. Etc. Now there’s XFN stuff in the Operator extension as well, which also does a good job of making use of the XFN relationships in blogrolls.

I haven’t figured out the “Bookmarks” function yet. I am assuming this is for the rel="bookmark" attribute, but it doesn’t seem to pick them up. Maybe I’m confused. Which wouldn’t be uncommon.

Anyhow, for more info read the release post on the Mozilla Dev Blog, Introducing Operator.

1. Sandbox skins/menu
2. The #globalnav option
3. Improving semantics
4. Simplify, simplify, simplify

1. Sandbox skins/menu

   The first question at hand is, why do we need a Sandbox Skins menu? There are issues related to the minimalist skins using @import to piggy-back off the main style.css, but perhaps we can do away with this menu and place the layout CSS in snippets in the readme.html.

   There’s also the possibility of changing the Sandbox Skins menu to become a Sandbox CSS menu, where CSS is added just like on WordPress.com blogs (with the upgrade). You can input and edit your CSS for the Sandbox. The CSS output would be immaculate and consistent.

   As we began talking about possibilities here, I was working on getting a site up for Sandbox skins. I’ve paused for the moment, though I know it will still be useful for the Sandbox, because we’re question how the Sandbox uses skins. What do you think?

   There are already quite a few skins for the Sandbox available:

   • Adam’s Unsleepable
   • Reaper-X’s ChinaRed
   • And Reaper-X’s X-Cuberik
   • Trevor’s k2 lite
   • Wank’s unique The Literary Life
   • Zeo’s Sandbox K2

   Keep in mind that these were all completed within seven days of first release of the Sandbox (and those are just the ones I found). Seven days with changes to the Sandbox? Well done all, and take that, Blogging Pro.

2. The #globalnav option

   Anyhow, we’re also wondering if we should just remove the “Global Navigation” option as set in the skin .css file. Perhaps we should just fix it there. It seems that part of the Sandbox beauty is making CSS “conditionals” with the dynamic classes.

   Could the same results be produced with CSS alone? Without necessarily making it a hard-coded option?

   In case you’re not familiar with this, there is an option for skin developers to set a “Global Navigation: Y/N” in the skin .css file. This allows the theme to produce a list of pages below the header and before the content. Blogs on WordPress.com using the Sandbox will always have the #globalnav enabled.

3. Improving semantics

   How can we improve the markup and the semantic nature of the Sandbox theme within the context of WordPress and blogging? Along these lines, we want to take advantage of sound standards (e.g., XHTML tags, XFN, hAtom).

   We’ve tried to make the Sandbox as semantic and forward-compatible as possible. The dynamic classes and the overall structure of the Sandbox make it friendly to beginners, actually. Not having to deal with PHP and focus on CSS (and images, too) is a great benefit to learners. So what are we forgetting? How could we improve the Sandbox’s semantic nature?

4. Simplify, simplify, simplify

   Andy said to me recently, A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. Andy was, actually, quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Both of them are correct.

   I’m always up to cutting stuff out. I despise bloat. This just increases the learning-curve and complicates its functions. This is a quesiton, but it’s also a context to consider when looking at the Sandbox. How can we make this whole process simpler? How can the user experience be more enjoyable?

   As I mentioned in my previous post, I think skinning the Sandbox is quite a lot of fun. It’s nice, for a change, to just use CSS and design something clever, creative. This is what we want to encourage: enjoying. So as we approach 1.0, how can we improve the Sandbox so that is enjoyable for the largest group possible? And yet remains terribly simple—on the inside and out.

5. And . . . ?

You’ve read though this. Now, get a cup of coffee or tea, have a smoke, whatever, and come back with your ideas. You’ve seen, hopefully, that Andy and I value your ideas and feedback. So bring it.