When it’s time to take a break from coding or designing for the day, what do you pick up for some light reading? You could choose the latest New York Times Bestseller, but a better option would be to stay at your computer and turn your browser to A List Apart, the magazine “for people who make websites.”The magazine started as a mailing list in 1997, edited by web developers Brian Platz and Jeffrey Zeldman. The dedicated developers then hand-coded 159 issues before a new publishing system (designed by Brian Alvey) made it possible for them to make the magazine look even better, more easily. New issues are now released on Tuesdays as time and content allow.Issue 309 from July 6 featured articles by Complex Spiral Consulting founder Eric Meyer and Blast Radius Technical Experience Director Bobby van der Sluis. These two authors shared their thoughts on CSS vendor prefixes and CSS3 image scaling, respectively. If you already know what those terms mean, then you’ll appreciate the thoughtful and detailed writing style of these authors. If you’re in the dark, then you’ll find yourself more educated and even closer to designing your own site.A List Apart‘s archives are easily searchable by topic or keyword, and there are discussion forums for each article where readers share their own new thoughts and questions. If you find yourself with a lot to say, you can look into contributing articles for future issues. Just write your article, code it according to the site’s house style, and e-mail it to the editors while crossing your fingers. New articles are reviewed about every week or so, so if your article is worth it, you can expect to see it gracing A List Apart‘s home page in the near future.
