Posted by sh1mmer on Dec 8, 2005 in
General So Thomas is doing a really slap up job with this workshop. There is so much depth to what could appear to be a really simple topic. While he can’t cover everything he is giving some really great insight into so many things. I really want to get a handle on this and integrate it into a number of things at work and home. I also feel like I might be the person in the right position to talk about of accessibility in the context of this technology. While it’s been available for a while the way it is being used has grown recently into something mature. More later, but now I’m going to carry on paying attention.
Posted by sh1mmer on Dec 4, 2005 in
General So I am working on this model again, something I started about 2 years ago. There is still a heap to do, certainly the user testing and the recommendations drawn from it.
So what is this model I am talking about and why should anyone care?
Well, so far as I can find, no-one has ever mapped out the end to end process of retrieving a web page even though it is covered by some very specific standards. This was my original aim… to make a taxonomy of all the errors that could occur so users could have a better understanding. Things like the Motley Fool’s page not found error page are already starting to help a lot. However I wanted to go a bit further.
There is some research (I have the papers but not to hand) which suggests how one might educate or describe to users how the internet works. Describe the parts of the system which might have gone wrong in such a way that they don’t feel isolated. Internet Explorer and Firefox, and other browsers have started to do this more, but still not enough. My hope is by describing a generic model (with examples of typical configurations) that this model can be used to help build better web site and browser error pages. Things which educate users and point to the best possible tactics they can employ to recover the situation.
I also of course want to advocate the best use of auto-recovery strategies, such as the Motley Fool uses. Why should a user have to email you to tell you about a 404, or even press a button to email you? Why not just email yourself in your 404 page?! That’s just a simple example, but why let your users work unnecessarily.
Posted by sh1mmer on Dec 3, 2005 in
Personal Gosh! After one of your best (if not closest in terms of actual physical distance) friends tells you they didn’t know you had gone hippy it’s time to shout a bit louder. I am a Vegan, and I have been since March 2005.
What does that mean?? Well lets see…
veg·an
Pronunciation: ‘vE-g&n; ‘vej-&n, -”an
Function: noun
: a strict vegetarian : one that consumes no animal food or dairy products —veg·an·ism
/’vE-g&-”niz-&m, ‘vej-&-/ noun
In other words I don’t eat or use (knowingly) anything derived from animals. Of course that’s not necessarly true in practice but that can come later. Let me explain whyfore first. Cruelty is bad, mkay! I don’t care if it’s Bob the annoying guy at work, some Islamic person intent on blowing up a U.S embassy or livestock. You shouldn’t maim and or torture stuff, it just ain’t karmic.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I actually object to the use of animal produce, or even the killing of animals. At this point most people think I am loopy, but I can explain. Really. For me veganism is the path of least resistance to achieving non-partisipation in cruelty. I still wear leather shoes, because I bought them before I was vegan and don’t see the point in doing a deservice to the cow that gave up it’s hide. (Also I don’t think anyone will spontainiously decide to go vegan after seeing me not wearing leather good in the street, my conviction is my missionaryism not my dress sense)
“But, what about that killing animals stuff? Isn’t that a little strong for a Vegetarian let alone a Vegan?!” I hear you asking. Well actually no. I don’t like the torture of animals, but death doesn’t have to involve torture. The modern factory farm does, but that’s all the way through, not just at the end. If you eliminate torture I’m an omnivore just like everyone else. Not that Veganism hasn’t be awesome for my health.
To explain a little more, animals can’t see the future. The can’t imagine it, they just don’t know it’s there. They live in the now, with a little instinctual planning thrown in. Yes they can react to if I do x I will get y reward after a period of time, like Pavlov’s dog. That doesn’t imply they understand anything beyond the now. If you kill a person you take away their hopes and asperations, they imagined they could have been something, they could have enjoyed something, and that can no longer be. You kill an animal and you end it’s constantly changing now. As long as you don’t make it’s now bad in the process of killing it I don’t see a problem. Of course, this is just my humble deduction from stuff I’ve read.
If you are reading this and think I’m a total bastard feel free to prove me wrong. It’s been known (and more than once).