The latest incarnation of A List Apart is a nice example of what I prefer to see. Essentially a one column site that’s easy to read and looks bsically the same on mobile and desktop. I’m hoping that’s the future of the web.

I am a fan of flooid design, it gives flexibility not available in fixed pixel designs. I don’t agree with restricting content based on user device but instead progressive enhancements based on device support.
Screen readers read content in a linier fassion regardless of device, so weather you have 1 or 5 layout columns, I still get the content the same way, on a desktop, mobile and tablet.

Its an interesting discussion with no right or wrong answer but plenty of food for thought.

Then there are the days I see a screenshot of a well-designed website featured on TechCrunch. I visit the site with my smartphone and quickly notice it’s responsive and I become frustrated. I wanted to view the desktop version! Now I have to fire up my desktop to get a closer look at it and see if it’s worth saving to Evernote. That’s a lot of work when your whole family is chillaxing on the deck and enjoying the beautiful weather. Then again, my purpose of visiting the site was not to buy the product, only to learn why the screenshot caught my attention.

What I am noticing is, my family and I tend to re-engage with content that doesn’t make us uncomfortable. Responsible RWD is here for good. I’m hoping the option to switch between desktop and mobile becomes a standard feature built into all devices, smartphones to desktops, and works similar to Responsive Inspector http://outof.me/responsive-inspector-beta-released/.

There is a lack of understanding out there, that the dash for mobile need not be complex or costly. If the HTML has been made well it’s usually as simple as 10 lines of code.

Firefox mobile allows you to request a desktop view in those situations where a designer has made a complete hash of the thing.

Overall, I think RWD is a viable option for the majority of users and makes a site easier to use on a small screen. If it doesn’t, I’d suggest it’s the approach that’s failed — not the technology.

The “desktop view” implemented in mobile browsers normally changes the useragent string and removes the term “mobile” (or similar). However, RWD doesn’t care about the UA — it responds to the available resolution.

I do expect you’re right that most people simply won’t notice or care. It’ll only people apparent if you’re running a massively popular website with regular visitors who use a range of devices.

The site appears to work well. Do you know how much use it gets?

I also agree with Craig’s comment about most of the arguments here being made by us who understand and know what RWD is. I honestly don’t believe that the majority of your user base will notice the difference besides the fact that it is easy to use on each of their devices.