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Q: What, if any, are the differences in how a content should be written for hard copy books and for LINMO-compatible web sites? A: There are a number of differences. One of the most obvious and important is that the information in LINMO-compatible web sites is organized into unordered individual pages each of which focuses on a single, narrow subtopic and becomes what might be termed a self-contained article, whereas hard copy (i.e., printed on paper) books traditionally organize their information into ordered chapters and sections of chapters. There are also differences with regard to page layout, hyperlinks and indexing. But there are also some similarities, including the importance of consistency and simplicity, the use of margins, the avoiding of unnecessary color, the absence of advertisements and the importance of a high standard of writing. Q: There are absolutely no images on the LINFO site. Is this a requirement LINMO conformity? A: No, it is not necessarily a requirement. The real requirement is that there be no superfluous images, colors, advertising, etc., just as is the case with most well-designed hard copy books. With some topics, images might be truly useful in order to explain a topic. If images are used, they should be used in the manner as they would be in a well-designed hard copy book. The Linux Information Project (LINFO) site is purposely designed with no images for several reasons. One is to force the quality of the writing to be of a very high standard so that every concept can be well explained with words. Often images are used as a crutch for poor wording. Another reason is to make the content equally accessible to people with impaired vision who might access them via devices that convert words into speech. In addition, removing images speeds up the downloading time, which is important in the many parts of the world where only dial-up access to the Internet is generally available, and even the quality of that access is sometimes poor. Finally, there is a school of thought that believes that minimizing the use of images forces readers to use their imaginations more, just as some critics of television say that reading books and listening to the radio can be more stimulating to the imagination (and perhaps to creativity as well). Q: The visual appearance of LINMO-compatible web sites is too stark. It looks like something from the early days of the web. People want and expect something more colorful and lively today. A: Actually, this is not borne out by the evidence. That is, there has been a very positive response to the LINFO site, which is the first large-scale site that conforms (more or less) to the LINMO model. It is certainly correct that many people enjoy colorful and lively web sites, but there are also many people who are more interested in obtaining high quality content in as efficient a manner as possible. In fact, there are people who complain that there is too much emphasis on the web on making pages gimmicky and not enough on the quality of the content and its accessibility. One analogy might be that some people prefer to watch television while others prefer to read books or listen to the radio. Another might be that some users of computers prefer to use a GUI (graphical user interface) while others find the command line (i.e., all-text user interface) to be much more efficient. The number of users of the Internet is vast, and thus there is room for both approaches. Q: Does LINMO provide any specification with regard to the use of hyperlinks? A: Hyperlinks are fundamental to the LINMO model, and thus to the guidelines which are provided for implementation of the model (as are discussed on the page Guidelines: Hyperlinks). In addition, guidelines for site navigation will also be made available in a forthcoming page. Q: Is there some difference in the navigation structure of a LINMO-compatible web site as compared with an ordinary web site? A: Yes. Most web sites tend to have a largely hierarchical structure, somewhat resembling the directory structure on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems but with some cross-linking among files on different branches. On LINMO-compatible sites, however, the link structure is much less hierarchical because it is mainly associative (i.e., links from specialized terms and concepts to dedicated pages about them). Perhaps the most immediately noticeable difference for many users is that any page is a maximum of only two mouse clicks away from any other page, and the most relevant pages are often only a single click away. This can make it much easier and quicker to find and access information. Q: I tried to test this, but it seems that many links are three clicks away. A: Try clicking on the white space just to the right of where it says "LINMO" in the upper left hand corner of any page. This opens the Index page, which contains at least one link (and often two or more) to each page on the site. Q: What does LINMO specify about indexes? A: Well-crafted indexes are fundamental to the efficiency of navigation and to the locating of information on LINMO-compatible web sites, and they replace the so-called site maps that have become common on the web. The technology of the web makes it possible to make indexes far more efficient than in hard copy books, and the LINMO model and guidelines take full advantage of this. Detailed guidelines for creating efficient indexes will be provided in a forthcoming page. Q: Could a number of LINMO-compatible sites be interlinked, and, if so, how would it work? A: Yes, this is an intriguing possibility. In fact, it is already being done to some extent on this site. That is, some of the links in the main body of text point directly to pages on the LINFO site. Q: Is there any problem with using more advanced web technologies such as PHP, Javascript and AJAX? A: The most important points are to keep the sites simple, to focus on the quality of the content, to maximize usability and to minimize bandwidth consumption. This can usually be accomplished with just basic HTML (hypertext markup language) and a little CSS (cascading style sheets). It is very easy to get distracted from these goals by interesting technologies that might add little to content and usability. The people who are most qualified for creating LINMO-compatible sites (i.e., those who have strong writing skills and who are highly knowledgeable about a topic) will generally not be proficient in such technologies and will usually have little interest in becoming so. Q: How is completion defined? A: The situation is very different from a hard copy book, for which completion (at least for the author) occurs when the publisher accepts the final manuscript and begins printing. This is because the dynamics of the two forms of publishing are very different. Many LINMO-compatible web sites will likely reach the stage where a sufficient number of high quality articles have been created to provide good coverage of a topic. However, it is difficult to determine when a project of this type is completed for several reasons. One is that there will always more to say about any given topic, and new ideas for new pages will keep occurring to a dedicated author and/or will be suggested by users. Also, existing pages will likewise require considerable maintenance in order to update content, add links to new pages, correct errors and improve style. Perhaps there is no such thing as completion, just as there is (or at least should be) no such thing as completion of a person's education or of the world's collective knowledge about any specific subject. Created May 8, 2006. |