Posted by Ben C on 05/05/07 08:58

On 2007-05-05, Jukka K. Korpela <jkorpela@cs.tut.fi> wrote:
> Scripsit Joel Shepherd:
>
>> A single giant list of 1000-45000 names is not at all pleasant to
>> read, even if from a machine's point of view it's quite efficient.
>
> Well that _was_ part of my point. Who wants to read 45,000 names, no matter
> how they are displayed? You want to _search_ for names. So a search form
> would work well, properly implemented. But even a separate flat text file is
> better than a contrived way to rendering the names as part of a web page
> organized as a sequence of lists formatted in columns. One name per line is
> not a problem, rather an asset. When you see a name on one line, e.g. after
> using the Find function of a browser or a text editor, it's better than
> seeing the name in some column in a row where you need to scan with your
> eyes to find the relevant item.
>
> One name per line is also much better than any columnar presentation, when
> _people's_ names are involved. A person's name might be anything from two or
> three one-syllable words to a dozen of long words.

Where were you when they were designing the Vietnam veterans' memorial
in Washington?

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