[LINK] What's a website (was Welcome to our new website)

[Ivan Trundle]

On 08/06/2007, at 4:56 PM, Tom Worthington wrote:

> At 08:56 PM 6/06/2007, Ivan Trundle wrote:
>
>> On 05/06/2007, at 4:47 PM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>>> I use a definition from the High Court of Australia <http://  
>>> www.tomw.net.au/technology/it/ecommerce/index.shtml#law>:
>>
>> Tom - you never fail to amaze me in your ability to write almost  
>> every e-mail with a reference to something on your website. ...
>
> I try to confine my Link postings to topics I know something about.  
> Usually I will have written something on the topic and it is better  
> to point people to that, than clog up the list with a lot of waffle.

If you're trying to avoid waffle, why not just confine your comment  
to email alone?

>
>> But why not link to the High Court's definition directly, or even  
>> to Austlii instead? ...
>
> I link to a quote I have prepared, so as to:
>
> 1. INFORM: Court transcripts are long, wordy documents which are  
> hard to read. If I linked straight to it, the reader would most  
> likely not be able to find the relevant text, or make sense of it.  
> As I have already selected the relevant bit and provided some  
> explanation and context for it, I think it better to point the  
> reader to that.

That's not the point. When you make a reference to a quote, it is far  
better to use it in context. You're patronising your readers. Don't  
assume that people are incapable of making sense from what you or  
others write.

> 2. PERSUADE: I want to persuade readers to my point of view. If you  
> read my selected quote, with my context around it, you are more  
> likely to agree with me. If you read the original, you may form a  
> different view from mine.

If a reader was to read your selected quote in *your* context, they  
are lazy, and I doubt that they would be persuaded. People of normal  
(or higher) intelligence prefer properly cited or reference material.  
I shouldn't have to remind you of the key strength of the internet,  
and the ability to link directly to content to support your views.

> 3. IMPRESS: It looks good if the reader can see I am not just  
> making it up as I go along. If I pointed straight to the  
> transcript, you might think I found it with a web search a few  
> minutes ago. Instead you can see it is something I wrote about some  
> time ago and had given considerable thought to.

How is one able to judge how much time or thought you put into any  
words that you craft? And how is that meant to impress the reader?  
I'm not impressed.

> 4. PROMOTE: By pointing to my web site I promote myself and those  
> organisations I am associated with. In this case the web page is  
> one I use for lectures at the ANU and so this helps promote ANU  
> courses. It may also help me get work as an expert witness if I  
> quote the High Court.

You've nailed it - and I don't know why this isn't number one, if  
you're being honest. Self-promotion is an interesting social and  
cultural activity. Some people try very hard and overdo it, thus de- 
promoting their efforts. Others know when to hold back, and when to  
step forward.

> What amazes me is that many contributors to online forums seem to  
> put so little effort into what they write in postings. They put  
> little thought as to why they are doing it or what they hope to  
> accomplish. They put little effort into writing something which the  
> intended audience will find readable, credible and useful.

The art of conversation is the ability to listen as much as talk  
(some say listen twice as much as talk). If you regard this online  
forum as a place to merely find credible, readable and useful, then  
you've missed an important aspect of the social groupings that occur  
both online and elsewhere. And there are some on Link who put little  
effort into their writings, but communicate very well - for some,  
writing and communicating require no effort at all.

> My views on what and how to write postings have not changed much  
> since 1998,

There's the rub. The internet has moved on. I have also written about  
how to write postings, but I'm not here to promote when I did, or  
where it was published.

Is there any value in this thread? I doubt that it will change much.  
On the other hand, I've had enough communications off-Link to  
convince me that my thoughts are shared...

iT