I should also add, that the whole notion of "we're outside the CMS just because we can" is extremely irritating to hear. Its people like you that cause massive maintenance issues and make everyone 2-3 years down the track go, "why the fk aren't these guys just using the same thing as everyone else". Its also completely contradictory to what web standards in general are all about - being consistent and completely interoperable.
I am only saying this because we have one group in our organisation which have taken this path, and they just make the department as a whole look bad and inconsistent. On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 8:21 PM, Steve Baty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thank you Jessica. Your clarification is correct :) > > 2008/6/6 Jessica Enders <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > I agree with most of the comments in response to this query but thought I >> would clarify one part of what Steve said, namely that: "breadcrumbs ... >> represent the content pathway the user followed to reach their current >> page". >> >> I misread this sentence initially and so others may too. I thought Steve >> was saying that breadcrumbs represent the pathway of pages the user moved >> through to get to their current page. But what I think he's actually saying >> is that they represent the location of the current page within the site >> hierarchy. This latter type of crumb is useful because it gives you a sense >> of context; the former type of crumb is unnecessary because you have the >> "back" button. >> >> Cheers >> >> Jessica Enders >> Director >> Formulate Information Design >> ---------------------------------------- >> http://formulate.com.au >> ---------------------------------------- >> Phone: (02) 6116 8765 >> Fax: (02) 8456 5916 >> PO Box 5108 >> Braddon ACT 2612 >> ---------------------------------------- >> >> On 06/06/2008, at 6:58 PM, Steve Baty wrote: >> >> Lib, >>> >>> Breadcrumbs fall into that category of IA component that hurts no-one, >>> and helps some people some of the time, which generally makes them >>> worthwhile. However, breadcrumbs should serve a specific purpose, that >>> being: to represent the content pathway the user followed to reach their >>> current page. If your site (overall) is structured the same way as your >>> organisation, then the breadcrumbs you've described serve their purpose >>> (although the convention is that each node in the breadcrumb be a link, >>> other than the current page). >>> >>> From what I can see, however, the intent of this device is not to act as >>> a breadcrumb trail in the navigational sense, but is, in fact, a method for >>> communicating organisational structure. That should be a different >>> conversation, and its one that is likely going to come down to 'Company >>> convention dictates' - end of discussion. >>> >>> I have some concerns about the potential for confusing users who would >>> visually associate this device with a navigational mechanism, so an >>> alternate visual treatment (especially the choice of the > delimiter) might >>> be in order. >>> >>> Otherwise, the general consensus amongst the IA community is that >>> breadcrumbs don't hurt, and they might help. >>> >>> Regards >>> Steve >>> >>> 2008/6/6 libwebdev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: >>> Hi folks, >>> >>> My organisation manages around 7000+ pages for 100s of departments, >>> using a CMS. Mine is the only department outside the CMS, just because >>> we can. >>> >>> We have been persuaded (read: bullied) to redesign our header to >>> exactly match that of the parent organisation. I have no problem with >>> that per se, but theirs includes breadcrumbs, and we don't want 'em. >>> >>> I'm wondering what the consensus is here on their usefulness. I've >>> always been under the impression that the purpose of breadcrumbs was >>> to indicate to the user where they had been. However, the ones we are >>> being urged to implement do no such thing; they simply display our >>> organisational structure. This means that on every one of our 200-odd >>> pages, the breadcrumbs will appear like so (we are the library): >>> >>> Parent Org > Clinical Services > Library > Current page >>> >>> The only thing that's going to change is the current page. To me, >>> that's not a breadcrumb trail at all. >>> >>> Am I wrong in my thinking? Is this a common usage? How does this >>> benefit the user at all? >>> >>> I'm questioning it because of usability issues, which is how I tie it >>> in with web standards. If this is considered off-topic, I apologise, >>> and replies should come directly to me rather than the list. >>> >>> thanks, >>> lib. >>> >>> >>> ******************************************************************* >>> List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm >>> Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm >>> Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> ******************************************************************* >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> ---------------------------------------------- >>> Steve 'Doc' Baty B.Sc (Maths), M.EC, MBA >>> Principal Consultant >>> Meld Consulting >>> M: +61 417 061 292 >>> E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> UX Statistics: http://uxstats.blogspot.com >>> >>> Member, UPA - www.upassoc.org >>> Member, IA Institute - www.iainstitute.org >>> Member, IxDA - www.ixda.org >>> Contributor - UXMatters - www.uxmatters.com >>> ******************************************************************* >>> List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm >>> Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm >>> Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> ******************************************************************* >>> >> >> >> >> ******************************************************************* >> List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm >> Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm >> Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> ******************************************************************* >> >> > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------- > Steve 'Doc' Baty B.Sc (Maths), M.EC, MBA > Principal Consultant > Meld Consulting > M: +61 417 061 292 > E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > UX Statistics: http://uxstats.blogspot.com > > Member, UPA - www.upassoc.org > Member, IA Institute - www.iainstitute.org > Member, IxDA - www.ixda.org > Contributor - UXMatters - www.uxmatters.com > ******************************************************************* > List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm > Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm > Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ******************************************************************* > -- - Anton Babushkin ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
