Strange things are afoot.

[Hornet]

I'm now nearly completed my website, but I've hit a rather strange snag. I've run the page through the usual WC3 validator, and it tells me that I need a doctype tag. So I add the appropriate one - HTML transitional - and my main javascript breaks. Nothing else has changed, yet the script is now useless. Does anyone have any idea why, and how I can get around it? The script is supposed to make a layer stay in the same place on the screen, and it works perfectly once the offending tag is removed. Is the tag even needed? The main browsers support the page as it is without any qualms, but is it different for a live site?
I'm running Apache, PHP, ActivePerl and MySQL on my testing server, and they don't seem to object either...

*Hits head on laptop* I've just been searching for information about this, and I've only just thought of doing the blindingly obvious. Google doesn't have one, and since that'll have been written for maximum compatibility (even Lynx can use it) then it can't be that essential after all.

Wow, this post accomplishes absolutely nothing. Go me.

[Evdawg]

try another DOCTYPE. XHTML strict might work. Hopefully, it might solve your problem.

If not, i guess just forget the DOCTYPE.

sorry noone has responded to your post. i guess you just ask the hardest questions. :P

[Man1c M0g]

Lol, I missed this post myself! A DOCTYPE would be nice, but if none of the common ones work, and creating your own also comes up a blank, i'd just leave it out. As long as it displays in 99% of web browsers, then your mission will be accomplished.

[Hornet]

What's the point of Doctypes then? IE, Opera, FireFox and the Moz don't seem to care if they're present or not, but they must have some prupose beyond HTML validation.

Also, M0g, your latest forum update seems to mildly disagree with FireFox - take a gander at the attached screenshot.