Thanks to everyone who has emailed me about the fact there is a big gap appearing at the top of my blog. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to work out what is causing it so therefore have been unable to fix it. I’m pretty sure it’s something in one particular entry, so when the offending entry goes off the bottom, it should right itself.

The gap only appears in Internet Explorer 6 and below, so if you find it really annoying you could try upgrading to version 7 or using Firefox instead. Or if you can see what the problem is, please tell me!

Sorry for any inconvenience caused, etc!

Published Dec 12, 2006 -

34 Comments on “Big Gap”
  1. Steve Says:

    It’s funny how the day you mention the big gap, it disappears.

  2. Mr Mans Wife Says:

    Lol, so it has!

  3. Mark Myers Says:

    Heh, that narrows down which entry was causing it, at least…

  4. kingmagic Says:

    I think it was due to a rip in the space / time continuim and that allowed a vacuum effect with a wormhole floating by for good measure. Either that or it was the fuffle valve. Off for my medication again……

  5. wil Says:

    I use Firefox, so no gap, but your banner is missing.

  6. Stuart Marsh Says:

    Um, go with the suggestion of upgrading…

    I could go in to technical details but basically it’s IE6 and below’s inability to process certain PHP (Pre-Hypertext Processor) code and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets both of which are utilised by wordpress…

    I have the same issues with my site…

    First Aid, Communications, Audio & Information Technology Qualified Specialist… LOL!

    And I’m only 18!

  7. DaveM Says:

    But now there’s a big gap at the start of the second page….

    I guess you don’t really care about that…

    (Nice blog)

  8. Mark Myers Says:

    Wil, which banner is gone?! Damn website! I wish it would behave itself.

  9. tjwood Says:

    “…could go in to technical details but basically it’s IE6 and below’s inability to process certain PHP (Pre-Hypertext Processor) code…”

    That’s rubbish, because PHP is processed by the web server, and has nothing to do with the browser.

    The CSS quirks in IE are a more likely explanation.

  10. Stuart Marsh Says:

    Um… Always up for being proved wrong, but…

    It where the unstable CGI processor for PHP misreads or misses bits of PHP code and leaves them in the output HTML as dodged code…

    Just double checked that with a mate and he agrees…

    Might still be wrong though ;-)…

  11. tjwood Says:

    Well OK, but that’s a bug with PHP, not IE…

  12. Mick Says:

    ‘unstable CGI processor for PHP’

    All gobbledigook. Just the sort of thing that gives the IT industry its bad rep with the general public.

    If stuff is left around then the browser should display it. Unless they are inside tags in which case if they don’t make sense it should be ignored.

    CSS quirks in IE are a more likely culprit.

    The recommendation to change browsers so that it renders properly saddens me. How can people be expected to use computers when they are constantly having to upgrade them to do the simplest things.

  13. Mark Myers Says:

    Mick, it’s all gobbledegook to me too, and I didn’t want to go recommending people changed browsers, but it’s the only way I know of that they can get rid of the gap. If anyone can help me with fixing the gap my end, I would be really grateful!

  14. eggbanjo Says:

    Don’t get me started on this ‘website’ i can get it fine here at work (without banner, no gap) but cant at home at all (linux + firefox). Its about the only website in the universe that i cant get to on my home pc, all v.odd!

  15. quixote Says:

    Curiouser and curiouser. I use Firefox (1.5) and Linux (Fedora Core 3) and have no problems viewing this site. There was never any gap, but the banner has recently disappeared. I didn’t even notice that until somebody mentioned it. (Too busy reading the fascinating content and comments!)

  16. Mark Myers Says:

    Could someone please send me a screenshot of the missing banner?

    I didn’t even realise there was a banner!

    Might be time for a total change of scheme, I think!

  17. Romayne Says:

    I’ve come to your blog from Random Acts of Reality and I remember he’d been asking about the suitability of Wordpress for blogs. At that time I’d a tiny blog (well, actually it’s still tiny!) so figured perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad time to have a go-see for myself what WP was like given all the hype. Sure enough - apart from the fact I can only find about 12 templates (no doubt tons more off on other sites or for those with better HTML experience than I have) I’ve found it a TON better for me at least, but then I was previously on the plain boring old Blogger and never could figure out how to improve on the basic boring interface. My main reason for shifting sideways tho was to be finally easily able to obtain stats for visitors - mind you, now I can see just how neglected the blog really is, I’m not sure I want to know anymore - but anyway. Might be something for you to look into at some point?? Or have I missed something here, and this actually is a WP site in disguise perhaps? :))

  18. Mark Myers Says:

    This is actually a WordPress site in disguise!

  19. Martin Says:

    I agree with Mick and TJ… Anyway, a suggestion to fix it. As all good things should be, its a slight bodge, but if you change the html code where it says:

    to

    You’ll sort it. The problem is that IE thinks the sidebar is slightly too big, and so pops it down the page, after it finishes.

    Cheers,

    Martin

  20. Martin Says:

    Hmm, let me try that again:

    <!– begin sidebar –>
    <div id=”right”>

    to this:

    <!– begin sidebar –>
    <div id=”right” style=”margin-left: -1px”>

  21. Sonya Says:

    mac and safari…. and all is right with the blog :>)

  22. Stuart m Says:

    OK, OK…

    I’m out of ideas now… lol… And I like the word ‘gobbledigook’…

    Without it the ICT industry would never generate an income….

    Anyways I guess i’l go back to my first aid… I’m better at that ;-) ;-)

    Good luck with fixing ur site Mark…

    Might as well plug my site while I’m here tho…
    http://smarshonline.co.uk

  23. TomDimmock Says:

    I never noticed it, but then again, I use trusty old Firefox….even if I have completley blown my laptop hard-drive. Losing a lot of data isn’t fun!!

    Um, don’t notice it on IE either, but I am using v7…

    Tom…..

    P.S. Never put two SJA members, who understand IT together, otherwise you get an arguement…. hehe (illustrated perfectly above by tjwood and StuartM….)

  24. eggbanjo Says:

    ok, what have you changed, here i am at home viewing your website!!

    (for geeks, im using kbuntu and Fox 2)

  25. Mike Says:

    I’m being torn in half over Mick’s comment RE the reccomendation of different browsers.
    For a start, I’m a webdesigner and I know that for me Firefox is better for all intents and purposes. If everyone was to run Firefox then things would be fine, unfortunatley that’s not the case and will probably never will be. The reason I say this is down to the fact that IE falls short in so many areas but, in particular, it doesn’t not render what is know as the ‘box model’ correctly.

    This causes all sorts of problems for me and it’s annoying, steressful and - most importantly - a waste of my time to try and fix this. It is the browser that is flawed, not my code. I don’t see why I should have to put in the extra work because the developers of IE don’t want to. A perfect example of what I mean can be found here, on a website I’m currently working on. In IE you’ll notice a huge gap above the header which reads ‘The Square Wheel’ but in Firefox or other standards complient browsers, this gap is nowhere to be seen.

    One day, this sort of problem will be solved but, untill then, we’re all going to have to lear to live with it. Which I think, is very sad.
    Get back to me if you want to discuss this further.

    Mike

  26. Stuart M Says:

    A web developer that use relative links on other peoples web sites… Hmm….

    At least I know I’m not the only developer that can get things wrong lol ;-)

    Thanks Mike you’ve made my day…

    Here’s your FIXED link for those who want to look…
    http://www.thesquarewheel.co.uk

  27. Mike Says:

    Loler - thanks buddy. I’ve had a horrible cold for the last week and nothing’s going my way because of it. Your help’s much appreciated.

  28. Mark Myers Says:

    Thank you Martin — help much appreciated! I’ll try that now.

    Everyone else, I have no idea what any of you are on about, and I KNEW it was a bad idea to start posting about computer stuff…

    Also, is the banner still missing and if so could someone send me a screenshot? Thanks for your help :)

  29. Mark Myers Says:

    Aargh! I have changed it as you said and it has totally mangled the whole site in ANY browser and now I can’t get it back how it was!!! Help!

  30. Martin Says:

    Oh, sorry Mark… :( I did test it before I submitted it, I promise! It might be safer if you just leave it - your site appears to be working now though. Sorry again! :s

  31. HardySoul Says:

    Sorry Mark, can’t send you a screenshot of the banner cos it’s missing! I’m viewing the blog at home for the first time, and did notice The Gap was missing - I just assumed it was my superior home PC v cheap Yorkshire Ambulance Service PC (I too am an EMD). Will check it again at work when I’m next on nights. The banner I remember had a funny little cartoon EMD person, sort of round and green with a headset on and funny hair? :shrugs:

  32. Mark Myers Says:

    Aha! I now know what you mean by the banner! That’s missing because after I changed the margin thingy like Martin suggested, the whole site was mangled and I changed the sidebar back to the scheme default — my Google Ads and other modifications are temporarily gone too. I’ll start again when I’ve got a bit of spare time. Thanks :)

  33. maxwilly Says:

    lol :)

  34. Andy Says:

    Thank you for a blog that shows the real problems within the EMDC.

    The North West Ambulance Service is like all other Ambulance Services in a state of panic and workers fedup with work conditions and the way they are treated.

    Going SICK is a bad thing.

    Saturday night 3 call takers and a stretched Dispatch. Plus it is pay day/weekend.

    Callers think you are a b…sterd. C…t and a f..ker.

    Management say get on with it….. is this right NO.

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