Re: webcraft reading

Kevin Troy (ktt4d@faraday.clas.virginia.edu)
Wed, 2 Oct 1996 13:36:27 -0400 (EDT)

According to dee3s@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu:
> -The section on Noise in the Communication Components reading
> says that the best way to reduce noise is by clarifying and
> solidifying your intention. Do you agree with this? What role
> do you think the projection and interface play in reducing noise,
> keeping in mind the communication process diagram?
>
I think the biggest problem on the Web today is that, contrary
to the original HTML intentions, the interface increases noise
tremendously b/c the author has no idea what browser/ computer
readers are viewing on. There's no decent HTML standard
anymore to let the author know whether the page will be laid
out in the appropriate manner. Hypertext is still tied
strongly to print media, and in print, layout is one of the
greatest clarification tools (this picture is next to this
paragraph, this picture is above this article, etc.)

As for projection, I think there is a limited extent to which
the author can articulate his intentions. . .precise wording
and such are crucial, but there's only so much one can do.
Going back to previous discussions, a theoretical problem here
is that the easiest way to project clearly is most likely in a
linear argument. . .the author and reader are both used to this
and more likely to pick up on the context clues.

> -Conceivably there could be a web site that consisted of linked
> images containing no text that fit together to tell a story.
> Would this still be hypertext or hyper-images? What impact, if
> any, does this have on our understanding of hypertext, especially
> in relation to the concept of re-defining the book?
>
> -In the section on Inline Graphics the author says that
> hypertext/web authors must always be "courteous to the audience
> trapped behind a slow link...." Do you agree with this
> statement? Should an author need to alter his or her projection
> to satisfy ALL members of an audience? Is it rude to design a
> site with a fast-link audience in mind? Should an artist be
> forced to name an unnamed piece just to provide a text
> alternative for the text-only browser?

I think this does depend a lot on your intended audience and
what your page is for (service, commericial, personal,
"art,"). I'm all for moderation in these aspects. . .I prefer
the NYT or WSJ over papers with color, though, so maybe I'm
just stuffy. Still, Javascript, Shockwave, etc are neat, but a
true pain in the butt, especially if your reader is paying by
the minute with AOL or a similarly shoddy service.

-- 
Kevin Troy
http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/~ktt4d