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Posted by usenet+2004 on 09/27/06 07:57
dorayme:
> [usenet+2004@john.dunlop.name]:
>
> > I'd omit the first sentence under the main heading and let the page
> > speak for itself. I would leave a note that the resources are all PDFs
> > if that is the only format they are in (the URL suffixes would be
> > <.pdf>).*
>
> Well, ideally, why even a note on this?
Ideally, as I meant to say in the footnote, there would be no need.
Ideally, I think, you would have different formats of the same resource
all served under the same URL, content negotiation picking the one most
preferred. But you serve only PDFs, so even if it was just a note in
the title attribute, I think a note *somewhere* would be helpful. (I
said 'note', mind, not an explanation of how to read PDFs in one or
more systems.)
> After you have done with the page, we will end up with a
> page that I initially drafted that was not as helpful as this
> "flawed page" That's what the worry is, John.
Not Mentioning The Mechanics is a matter of style. Nothing wrong
either way. If you feel you need to, go ahead.
> > I'd omit the last two sentences of the first paragraph. The
> > last one is dubious because there is nothing preventing a browser from
> > presenting PDFs.
>
> The last one is true, rather than dubious. It is to head off any
> idea that these docs are part of the normally viewable or
> accessible website.
Here we see again that an author's expectiations or intentions don't
necessarily coincide with those of the user. PDFs are perfectly
accessible with a web browser. Not all browsers, maybe, but that's up
to the user not the author to decide.
Mentioning that the documents are PDFs, and linking to a page about
PDFs, is sufficient in my book.
> How do you get more specific than right click and save... by even
> more words... even I have limits!
That is specific, yes, but what about people who don't or can't 'right
click and save'? (You are also entering the territory of guessing the
wording on context menus, but I see you hedge by saying 'like "save"'.)
> > I would remove the entire section or at least drastically
> > cut it down. For example, in the first paragraph of the page you
> > mention PDFs. You could make 'PDF' a link to a page about PDFs,
> > rendering the need to explain how to read PDFs unnecessary.
>
> I don't know about this? This is really being a slave to a
> principle without practical sense. I would rather say a few
> things occasionally to save people chasing off elsewhere.
I think people who don't know about PDFs and are interested in finding
out can learn more from a page *about* PDFs than from a sidenote on a
page about something else entirely, and those who do know, or think
they know, about PDFs can ignore the link. By linking, all the text on
the page remains relevant to everyone.
[...]
> http://members.optushome.com.au/droovies/pics/MentioningMechanics2
> .png
Again, I'd remove the section about PDFs and link to a page about them.
I'd also get rid of 'Download' in 'Download latest newsletter'.
--
Jock
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