// trim leading and trailing spaces from a string
function trim( txt )
{
    return txt.replace(/^\s+/, "").replace(/\s+$/, "");
}
// handle 99% of all email addresses
function validateEmail( fld )
{
    var emRegex = /^([a-z][\w\-\'\.]+)+\@([a-z][\w\-\']*\.)+[a-z]{2,6}$/
    var chk = emRegex.test( trim(fld.value) );
    fld.style.borderColor = chk ? "transparent" : "red";
    return chk;
}
// allow most any text, for minimum size:
function minText( fld, minc )
{
    var chk = trim(fld.value).length >= minc;
    fld.style.borderColor = chk ? "transparent" : "red";
    return chk;
}
// could add other functions for other kinds of validation

// now main form validation:
function validateForm( form )
{
    var v = minText( form.name, 3 )
          & validateEmail( form.email )
          & minText( form.message, 10 );
    return v != 0;
}