On Mar 20, 12:08 am, The Editor <[email protected]> wrote: > On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 6:06 PM, Markus <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Mar 19, 10:16 pm, The Editor <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I made it a rule to always think about the context in which a link is > > of interest. One always thinks that everything should be directly > > accessible from everywhere. Which only causes pain and discomfort to > > everyone visiting. Just compare how you feel in an Apple Store vs. > > [fill in the blank]. > > I think this is wise, but it is also important to consider the kind of > website you are operating. My site for example--something of a cross > between a virtual school and a social networking site is very free > flowing. Students log in, check their messages, do some class work, > visit the forum, read the blog. Etc. It is not structured like a > straightforward blog, or simple documentation. So I need to keep my > navigation more prominent. I think it is important for people on my > kind of site to be able to go anywhere from anywhere. > > Still I agree in principle. And I'm challenged to rethink things > (again), and look for ways to achieve more simplicity.
Agreed that every solution is unique. One way to reduce clutter is to use drop down menus. Another is to display, let's say, a "community" link instead of all the direct links to sub pages like "Inbox", "Sent", "New Message"... Often to click twice instead of once is less of a burden then feeling uneasy because of information overload. > > Is the BoltWire story or the license page of interest if you are > > browsing solutions? And so on. One could reduce brain overload > > tremendously. As I said I am willing to sketch a proposal for a more > > accessible BoltWire.com that might match the quality of BoltWire 4.0 > > more closely. I would still be happy to receive a zipped BoltWire > > field from you. It doesn't matter if it is only important stuff or > > contains lots of garbage. I am quite sure that field should receive > > spring cleaning anyways. There are so many details that new users > > might notice much better than we do that proof one thing: The site has > > been growing and growing and growing without adjusting. > > > (I would even conserve the side bar.) > > I'm looking forward to this. And relieved the side bar has escaped the > axe! But I must confess I like the default skin and the BoltWire site > layout quite well. I think it is pretty simple and straightforward. > And logical. So it might take some convincing before I'd be open to > any radical changes. In other words, I'm eager for ideas, but I don't > want you investing lot's of time when it may not result in major > changes to the site. I am reading your mind almost as well as BoltWire does. I knew you were thinking these thoughts. I neither plan to change the look (tiny bits at most), nor do I plan to radically change the logic. Let time be my concern. It's just so much more productive, easier and funnier to have the actual site in front of me. Without it I can't decide what works and what doesn't. And I'm much less inspired. Without the site, it's like talking about something that you have never experienced. In other words, I really dislike talking about design mail after mail when a hands-on, eyes-on experience would be worth a thousand of them. See it this way. Either you get some improvements, maybe some inspiration. But you can't lose anything. And I am not in any way that presumptuous to think what I do has to be integrated. Eager for ideas? Give me a chance. :) > Also, I tend to work best on, let's fix one thing at a time, rather > than let's completely swap one thing out for something else entirely. > Like, what's the biggest thing we could improve right now. Let's focus > on that... But of course a more radical proposal may be just what it > takes to shake things loose a bit. :) Some of my ideas for the site might be radical but all are subtle. It will look almost the same but it will hopefully feel and work better. And I am especially having new users in mind that haven't yet navigated the docs and solutions thousands of times. After the years one easily gets blind for the obvious. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BoltWire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/boltwire?hl=en.
