“A gap between how web designers and ordinary surfers think is causing frustration on the net.” —Web Design “Causes Confusion” (BBC) Nothing really new here, but it’s good to see the mainstream press covering usability issues. Similar:Academic study concludes that teaching kids to touch-type can make them better writersImproving students’ handwriting skill di…Education10 Developer Tips…
Admit it. You didn’t read the f—ing manual. You didn’t read it because you’re a geek and you don’t need no stinkin’ manual. Or you didn’t because you’re not a geek, and the manual gave you brain cramps. —Read The F—ing Story, Then RTFM (Wired) Similar:Time’s Arrow, Part 1 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode…
On a page that collected links to articles about online navigation, Allen Smith posted a short quote from Jakob Nielsen, and added links to pages that illustrated Nielsen’s points. What are the ethical implications of adding inline links to quoted text? —Website Navigationwww.allensmith.net) Similar:People Thought an AI Was Brilliantly Analyzing Their Personalities, But It Was…
“Some weblogs wither once the first flush of enthusiasm passes, while others go from strength to strength, attracting contributions and feedback from experts and interested Internet surfers.” Laurel A. Clyde —Weblogs and Blogging (FreePint) One of her examples looks very familiar… Similar:Why You Should Blog to Get Your Next Job It’s your resume, only better:…
(UseIT.com) : “A company’s homepage is its face to the world and the starting point for most user visits. Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.” Jakob Nielsen —Home Page Usability Guidelines Similar:Yahoo, You Nagged Me Too Many Times; Bye!I have…
“Instead of a link… put a search box on your home page.” (UseIT.com) I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen on 13 March 2000, telling him that 6 out of 6 college freshman couldn’t find the “search” feature on his website. I wrote: “I think it might help if, instead of a link, you actually put…
“Although Internet resources may be freely available, there is a lack of certainty that they will be available for students next month, next semester or next year.” Markwell and Brooks —Broken Links: Just How Rapidly Do Science Education Links Disappear?via Wired) Similar:When He Clicked the Link, You Won't Believe How Disappointed He WasAuthors of overhyped…
Online waiver forms are not very useable. “Real users, not lawyers, need to write the forms. Then they need to redesign the sites so that the consent forms are visual, not legalese text blocks.” Interview with readability expert Mark Hochhauser. —Stop! Look Before You Click! (C|Net) Similar:'Anti-dopamine parenting' can curb a kid's craving for screens…
Don’t let the harsh title turn you off — Gerry McGovern is absolutely right when he points out that the Internet needs simpler design: "[T]here is a much greater need for simple web design today than there was in 1996. Back then we had pioneers and early adopters who tended to hunger for the new…
"Write simply. Keep headings, summaries, sentences, paragraphs and documents short. Get to the point. Then stop." Gerry McGovern —The Need for Simple English on the Web Similar:In March, 2002, I was blogging about…In March, 2002, I was blogging about …BusinessAxios journalism style delivers traditional news content in scannable formatIn addition to the fact that it’s…
When congressional Web sites are good, they’re really good. But most aren’t, says a nonprofit group that rated more than 600 of them. —Congressional Web Sites: Not So GoodCNN) Similar:Male Microsoft Leaders Ignored Women Who Really Hated ClippyI hated Clippy, not because it looked li…BusinessRediscovering Infocom Games With My Kids Call it the Familyhood of…
"Don’t let anyone tell you that as a programmer you don’t have to make moral or ethical decisions. Every time you decide that making users feel stupid is better than fixing your code, you’re making an ethical decision." —Programmers Make Ethical DecisionsJoel on Software) Similar:Teacher suspended after pro-Trump yearbook photos alteredFree speech is valuable. It’s…
"The practice of using the secret Word format for interchange impedes the growth of our community and the spread of freedom. While we notice the occasional annoyance of receiving a Word document, this steady and persistent harm to our community usually doesn’t come to our attention." Richard Stallman —We Can Put an End to Word…
"With the rise of search tools that unerringly bring you to the page you want, the need for a highly specific domain name — one that a casual Web user would be able to guess — has practically disappeared." Dan Gillmor —"’Google Effect’ Reduces Need for Many Domains"b> (SiliconValley.com) Similar:Shatner's live, extemporaneous post-touchdown monologue on…
“We are confident that you will have many years of trouble-free enjoyment if you carefully read these instructions and follow them.” (Note: Anybody who bothers to read instructions at all is probably already grouchy and impatient.) —IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Similar:Beam me up, Chewie. AmusingChoose wisely… you have the power to turn this wrap into a…
“Much web design has suffered from an over reliance on graphic design principles. Too many graphic designers have tried to force the Web to be what it is not…” —Information Architecture vs. Graphic Design (New Thinking) Similar:The Future of Academic Style: Why Citations Still Matter in the Age of GoogleLooking forward to getting my copy…
An informal 1998 survey by John Rhodes yielded the following advice: create your content first, then design your website; keep your design simple; use proper grammar. —How to Gain the Trust of Your UsersWebWord) Similar:When Robert Pinsky Wrote a Video Game[F]or a brief time in the mid-nineteen-e…CultureRules for Civility: 14-Year-Old George Washington's 110 Commandments for…
Uh… no. That already is college.com. —“This will be college.com. Contact us.” Similar:My Freshman Comp Student Didn’t Recognize the Term ‘Word Processor’Most of my students use MS-Word, but may…AcademiaIt will be harder to leave Facebook than it was to leave Twitter It was not that hard to leave Twitter….CybercultureNever trust a corporation to do a…
A lake. A salt mine. An oil drilling rig. A lack of communication. You figure it out. —Peaceful Lake Peigneur Turned into Maelstrom Similar:The AI revolution is powered by these contractors making $15 an hourStudents who cheat with ChatGPT can look…BusinessThe 1931 Histomap: The entire history of the world distilled into a single map/chart.This “Histomap,”…
“So who is this mysterious kingmaker who changed the world from her shadowy government bureaucracy? Has she seen any good movies lately? Is her marriage happy? America wants to know. America needs to know!” —Official Terry LePore Ballot Designer Fan Page Similar:YouTube distortion after the same clip is re-uploaded 1000 timesIn theory, technology lets people…