function submitContactForm(){

    /* show the waiting dialog */
    dialog = document.getElementById("waiting-dialog")
    dialog.style.disply = "block"
    setMainBackgroundOpacity(0.5)

    /* submit the form */
    xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xhr.open("POST", "/contact-api"); 
    xhr.onload = formSubmitFinished
    formData = new FormData(document.getElementById("contact-form")); 
    xhr.send(formData);

}

function formSubmitFinished(event){ 
    if(event.target.status < 200 || event.target.status >= 300){
        showErrorMessage(event.target); // blocking
        setMainBackgroundOpacity(1)
    }else{
        window.location.href = "/thanks"
    }
}

function setMainBackgroundOpacity(opacity){
    mainContainer = document.getElementById("main-container")
    mainContainer.style.opacity = opacity
}

function showErrorMessage(target){
    console.log(target)
    alert("Error: " + target.statusText)
}