This thread has got me thinking. If verbs are not the go in link
text, where does that leave us with 'skip to' links at the beginning
of a page? Should we just use 'main content' or 'navigation/menu'?
Also, Richard. The text sounds more passive because I've put it in
the passive voice. You can nominalise [1] most phrases to put them
into the passive, however, this does change the emphasis, as you
mentioned. If we want links to be incorporated into the flow of the
language and make sense out of context then should we be constrained
to a particular style of writing to achieve this?
Still open minded about this, just curious what others are thinking.
Cheers,
Damian
[1] http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/3b.html
Hey Damian,
Very valid point! It's not too difficult to turn a verb into an adjective.
Somehow, though, reading your example I get the feeling that it's a
very passive voice to read in.
It almost *feels* like:
Here's the Registration Form (which by the way you can also fill in).
What else would you do with an online form?
You could print it, but again 'print' (and 'register') seem to be
different verbs to 'complete' and 'fill in'.
They sound like context-specific Tasks rather than simply actions.
In which case, I'd probably want to use the verb as the link text -
it seems more forceful (at least from a marketing perspective) and
there's absolutely no confusion as to what you are being asked to do:
Register! Don't just look at the registration form and decide
whether or not to.
In response to Christian's claim - sorry but no one said we were
abandoning the title attribute at all!
This is a question of usability, rather than accessibility.
R :o)
--
Damian Sweeney
Learning Skills Adviser (online)
Language and Learning Skills Unit
Instructional Designer, AIRport Project
Equity, Language and Learning Programs
University of Melbourne
723 Swanston St
Parkville 3010
www.services.unimelb.edu.au/ellp/
www.services.unimelb.edu.au/llsu/
airport.unimelb.edu.au/
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