I had the same problem. 

It is Microsoft-only ;))


Best


Jan Servaes



On 06/01/2005, at 8:14 PM, Hervé Le Crosnier wrote:


<excerpt>Georg C. F. Greve a écrit :

<excerpt> rp> The ODS can be accessed at http://documents.un.org.

</excerpt>

<excerpt>I just tried this and had problems actually getting to the
documents,

others have reported similar problems with non-IE browsers on Windows

and Macintosh. It appears the site is running on Microsoft and is

using Microsoft-only functions for Javascript.

Could someone else please confirm whether this effect also exists for

them or whether this is some odd freak-incident that I have been

seeing?

</excerpt>


	Hello,


	I've also try the UN doc system.


	To me it don't work either...


	This answer is not a technical one

	(though i give technical advice), but rather

	a short insight on the way we have to deal

	with information in the information society.



	The UN site seems intersting... but what a poor realisation.

	Ugly style... and more : it don't work.


	Why ?


	Why do they use such a complicated system only to

	return back the id of the document we need ?

	At the end of this mail is the javascript code they use...

	it's not useful, but i think it will work with my Mozilla

	on Linux... So the problem is not that one.


	Where's the problem... that's a good question. Not only

	a geek one. What are the criterions such a rich and

	powerful body as UN use to assess an information system ?


	It works on the developer computer, so it have to work

	for everyone ?


	So many times international recognized standards are not in

	use... and more, standard of practice and programming skills

	are not used by developpers of international and wide-world

	information systems.


	It's a long way to have head of administrative

	structures to survey their own systems, and to be sure

	they work for anyone (from the visually-impaired to the users

	of others systems). They don't have the skills... OK,

	that's not their job. But they have to hire good analysts,

	to provide system-control check lists, have independant

	watchers (never ask the developper to test his own system...).


	That's really "information society". As we go to give more and

	more power to system wide coders, we have to define new

	skills and practices for assessing those systems. And that's a

	new kind of "governance", and may be of "government".


	Free software, as it give the ability to learn and share

	skills, and the capacity for any nation to develop it's

	own computer science economy, are a good tool for this

	new conception of responsability of public providers of

	information to ensure that any users can get access and

	have satisfaction with the systems they propose to the public.


Hervé Le Crosnier


PS : here is the javascript code... the problem is not there, but

	merely in the retunr asp programm...


	My two cents technical advice :

	Give away Front page, use any front-end

	to the UN database, publish the API to

	access the database (or any other data

	collected system to use)... and in a minute

	tens of programmers will add access to the

	UN documents in their own systems !!!


	Freeing the public national or international

	documents is not a question of publishing them,

	but of organising the acccess for any "publisher"

	(private or cooperative, or even other national

	or international bodies) to integrate those documents

	in their services.


	Look at the way commercial systems as Amazon

	offer that kind of API, and the massive use

	all over very different kind of web prducers.


	Look at the success of RSS,...


	Yes building information societies is also a

	problem of opening access to digital documents.

	And we need to teach those who are in charge of

	deciding that it's not a "technical" problem they

	have to give to a technical staff, but it's also

	a political problem they have to deal with.


	"Code is Law" as say Larry Lessig.


--------------------------------------

<<script language="javascript">

function Perform(action_name) {

	var form = document.forms[0];

	form.lastevent.value=action_name;

	form.submit();

	return true;

}


function ViewDoc(index) {

	var form = document.forms[0];

	form.doc2view.value=index;

	form.submit();

	return Perform("results.view");

}


function Perform1(language){

	var form = document.forms[0];

	form.langchoice.value=language;

	form.submit();

	return Perform('results.lang');

}

<</script>




	

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</excerpt>======================================

Professor Jan Servaes

Head

School of Journalism and Communication

University of Queensland

St.Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

Tel: +61 7 3365 6115 or 3088

Fax: +61 7 3365 1377

Email: j.servaes@uq.edu.au

URL: http://www.uq.edu.au/sjc/

<fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller>CRICOS No. 0025B</smaller></fontfamily>

============================================