Re: Navigation Proposal

[Joakim Ziegler <joakim helixcode com>]

On Wed, Dec 20, 2000 at 09:31:56PM -0800, Michael Bernstein wrote:

This is getting very, very long, so I'm going to just cut and summarize/answer.

Basically, there are two separate issues here, which I think we're confusing
a little. First of all, there's the discussion of whether or not we should
use a hybrid task/category scheme, or a pure scheme. Secondly, there's the
issue of four top-level categories being too few, in my opinion.

Now, for the hybrid versus pure issue, sure, it's fine to have a pure schema,
if it's possible, and doesn't deform an otherwise logical tree. For instance,
you've created four top level categories which seem to be able to hold all
the information we have on the site. But is it possible to continue with a
pure schema on the second level of navigation? How deep will the tree be with
this method versus a hybrid schema? How wide?

I'd argue that particularly since hybrid schemas are so common on the web,
people are used to them, and don't have to expel much mental effort to figure
them out. As a thought experiment, take your four categories and turn two of
them into tasks (pretty easy, just put a verb in front of the noun, like
"Learn about the GNOME Foundation"). It's not much harder to figure out
(ignoring that the label is long and unwieldy). It seems to me that the
usability difference is vastly larger from adjusting the boundaries between
categories than it is when adjusting between hybrid and non-hybrid schemas.


As for your four categories, yes, they're mutually exclusive, and yes, they
cover all the topics. But the fact that there are only four of them suggests
to me that they would need rethinking and/or splitting up. As they are,
they'd result in at least three more levels of navigation under them, since
they're so broad and abstract.

-- 
Joakim Ziegler - Helix Code web monkey - joakim helixcode com - Radagast IRC
      FIX sysop - free software coder - FIDEL & Conglomerate developer
            http://www.avmaria.com/ - http://www.helixcode.com/