Remote Loaded – JavaScript – WebRing
Ringmaster
Advantages:
Total control over ring navpanel 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 the ring.
Ringmember
Advantages:
Simple to install navpanel.
Requires little effort to maintain.
Very precise statistics possible.
Disadvantages:
Completely loses control over ring navpanel appearance.
Slow central server can effect load time out-of-proportion to navpanel size.
Ringmaster and central hub can push undesirable material to navpanel at will.
Requires javascript.
Central Hub
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.
Note: When a ring member adds remote-loaded javascript to his page, he or she is exposed to a huge security risk. Essentially, he or she is trusting the central hub, which can modify the ring navpanel 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.
Non-Remote Loaded – HTML – RingSurf
Ringmaster
Advantages:
Minimal control over ring navpanel 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.
navpanel modifications require coordination with ringmembers.
Ringmember
Advantages:
Can modify navpanel to fit with site.
Load time effected only by navpanel size (unless graphics remote-loaded).
Advertising and other undesirable materials cannot be pushed to navpanel.
Generally does not require javascript (unless navpanel is coded with it)
Disadvantages:
Installation somewhat more complicated, especially. if graphics must be loaded locally.
Requires more maintenance than remote-loaded navpanel.
Central Hub
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 – Self-Hosted – Ringlink
System Manager/Ringmaster
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 navpanel appearance.
Requires cgi or php or asp or some other scripting to support.
Tends to require more effort to police ring.
navpanel modifications require coordination with ringmembers.
Must promote the ring him/her self.
Ringmember
Advantages:
Can modify navpanel to fit with site.
Load time effected only by navpanel size (unless graphics remote-loaded).
Advertising and other undesirable materials cannot be pushed to navpanel.
Generally does not require javascript (unless navpanel is coded with it).
Disadvantages:
Installation somewhat more complicated, especially. if graphics must be loaded locally.
Requires more maintenance than remote-loaded navpanel.
Comments: Looking this over, it’s totally obvious to me why Yahoo! changed WebRing.com to use remote loaded navpanels. It gave them control. Complete and utter control.
To me, the security risk associated with remote-loaded javascript navpanels far outweighs their usefulness and desirability. That’s why the navpanels for my RingSurf, Ringlink, and SiteRing rings (that I am a member of) tend to be mixed in with my website’s content. However, the navpanels for my WebRing.com rings (that I am a member of) are off on their own pages. I do so because I cannot control what is displayed on these navpanels, or how these navpanels are displayed on my website.