An Analysis: JavaScript Vs HTML Fragments

Remote loaded ring fragment (central hub site)

Ringmaster

Advantages:

• Total control over ring fragment appearance
• Statistics can be very precise due to remote loads
• Much simpler to maintain control over ring members
• Promotional activities of central site can generate more traffic and members

Disadvantages:

• Difficult to move ring to another ring host
• Ring can be "seized" by ring hub and given to another
• Central hub can push undesirable materials, such as advertising, to ring sites
• Many new members generated by central site have nothing to do with ring

Ringmember

Note: when a ring member adds remote-loaded JavaScript to his page aka webring.org, he is exposed to a huge security risk. Essentially, he is trusting the central hub, which can modify the ring fragment to display anything: advertising, pornography or whatever, without notification or control. This is, of course, true when you add anything to a page which can be remotely controlled by someone else.

Advantages:

• Simple to install fragment
• Requires little effort to maintain
• Very precise statistics possible

Disadvantages:

• Completely loses control over ring fragment appearance
• Slow central server can effect load time out-of-proportion to fragment size
• Ringmaster and central hub can push undesirable material to fragment at will
• Requires JavaScript

Central hub site:

Advantages:

• Gains complete and utter control over rings and ring members
• Can push advertising at will Disadvantages: Requires huge amount of resources to support - More complicated to support at central server

Non-remote loaded fragment aka RingSurf

Ringmaster:

Advantages:

• Minimal control over ring fragment appearance
• Little control over ring members
• Central hub cannot push undesirable materials, such as advertising, to ring sites
• Promotional activities of central site can generate more traffic and members

Disadvantages:

• Tends to require more effort to police ring
• Difficult to move ring to another ring host
• Ring can be "seized" by ring hub and given to another
• Fragment modifications require coordination with ringmembers

Ringmember:

Advantages:

• Can modify fragment to fit with site
• Load time effected only by fragment size (unless graphics remote-loaded)
• Advertising and other undesirable materials cannot be pushed to fragment
• Generally does not require JavaScript (unless fragment is coded with it)

Disadvantages:

• Installation somewhat more complicated, esp. if graphics must be loaded locally
• Requires more maintenance than remote-loaded fragment

Central hub site:

Advantages:

• Server resources to support ring are minimal
• Retains ultimate control over ring

Disadvantages:

• Requires huge amount of resources to support
• Cannot push advertising to ring member sites

Non-remote loaded fragment aka self-hosted Ringlink

Ringmaster/central hub

Advantages:

• Gains complete control over ring
• Server resources to support ring are minimal
• Central hub cannot push undesirable materials, such as advertising, to ring sites
• Trivial to move ring to another ring host
• Ring cannot be "seized" and given to another

Disadvantages:

• Little control over ring members
• Minimal control over ring fragment appearance
• Requires cgi or php or asp or some other scripting to support
• Tends to require more effort to police ring
• Fragment modifications require coordination with ringmembers
• Must promote the ring him/her self

Ringmember:

Advantages:

• Can modify fragment to fit with site
• Load time effected only by fragment size (unless graphics remote-loaded)
• Advertising and other undesirable materials cannot be pushed to fragment
• Generally does not require JavaScript (unless fragment is coded with it)

Disadvantages:

• Installation somewhat more complicated, esp. if graphics must be loaded locally - Requires more maintenance than remote-loaded fragment

Looking this over, it's totally obvious to me why Yahoo changed webring.org to use remote loaded fragments. It gave them control. Complete and utter control.

To me, the security disk associated with remote-loaded JavaScript fragments far outweighs their usefulness and desirability. That's why my RingSurf, Ringlink and Bravenet rings tend to be mixed with content while my webring.org ring fragments are off on their own pages. I cannot control what is displayed on the fragment.

Note: Since I wrote this article, I left Webring.Org forever, dropped from all but a few RingSurf rings and completely dropped Bravenet rings. The only rings used by my sites are my Ringlink rings. Why? Rings produce little, if any, significant traffic, they tend to generate a lot of work and they look terrible on a site.