I have set up a simple web page for a family member and now they want to be able to edit the page themselves.
My primary web authoring tool is gvim which is obviously out of the question for a non techie.
Does anyone have any recomendations for a simple effective WYSWYG html editor
There are no requirments for javascript, forms, or any fancy stuff -- just pure presentation!
Have you tried Contribute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Contribute | http://www.adobe.com/products/contribute/.
It is really easy to use but not free.
Just gonna throw it out there - MS Visual Web Developer Express is free and can be used for basic HTML editing.
Nvu is pretty nice and lets you quickly switch between HTML source and view screens. It also supports FTP upload which might be useful for your family member (assuming this is how they will need to publish their updated pages), though I'm guessing you'll need to set it up for them first.
I've found Mozilla Composer to be very effective at editing basic HTML. Its output is mostly sane.
However, have you considered setting up a CMS for them? Much easier in the long run.
If it's an online application, take a look at the YUI Rich Text Editor. It's pretty and doesn't give you a zillion unlabeled tiny buttons like many other online HTML editors.
I think kompozer is a good option. I gave it to my 10 years old sister, and whe could use it without problems. But problems started when she started to see the actual code. And kompozer messes up a lot when you code directly...