From the perspective of someone who works with data, I simply have to disagree that words seem to be the most important way to convey information. Perhaps it is to some; but I'd bet the majority of information consumers prefer an alternate mode of visual communication with a well-executed design component. It is the concept is critical; words are simply one way to execute that concept. [Disclaimer: my wife is an advertising art director who has educated me a tiny bit on semiotics]
This is a web page
401–410 of 445 posts
Re: This is a web page
#402Earlier quoted context omitted.
And yet you chose to present your ideas using words. At the heart of the Web is the communication between humans. At the heart of that communication are words. You can argue that we can communicate using images, but that communication is limited when compared to words. You can argue that we can communicate using sounds, but unless those sounds are words, the communication is limited in the same way as when using pure…
> You can argue that we can communicate using images, but that communication is limited when compared to words. Like so many other things, it depends. When people are online looking to book a bed and breakfast, buy a pair of shoes or find a date, they tend to find images very valuable indeed. In fact, in the absence of images, many of the web's transactions would simply not happen. It's not for nothing that we often…
I don't think anyone is completely devaluing images in communicating things; they just assign images to a lower priority in the communication order, one that is supportive rather than primary. Without the context of buying shoes, pictures of shoes tell me nothing. I can fill those shoes with all sorts of stories.
(Static) pictures usually don't have implied ordering of information, unlike words, and videos, which require serialized focus to perceive.
Re: This is a web page
#403And what? Your font looks like crap, line-height is not nice for me to read either.
Re: This is a web page
#404Earlier quoted context omitted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September What should we do about it?
Implying we should 'fix' Eternal September is pretty close to implying we should keep important technology out of the hands of those the current users deem unworthy. That prevents both spam and the Arab Spring, both 4chan and Wikileaks. Keeping the Internet as it was prior to 1991, when commercial access was first allowed, means keeping it a small, controlled entity with obvious choke points that make it trivial to c…
I completely disagree with your statement. Maybe there is a bigger question: 'Is crossing the chasm to widespread adoption always a good thing?' Maybe we should be trying to build platforms that are high-quality instead of high-quantity. We are caught in a world that is obsessed with inclusion rather than exclusion. Is that, by necessity, the default position? Should it be?
The internet contributed to building support for the Arab Spring throughout the world but it was tyrannical regimes that were the root cause. Wikileaks is not new. We used to have a little thing called 'investigative journalism', a profession in which people would put their live's on the line to reveal scandals and uncover secrets they felt the world should have known.
Technology does not motivate moral growth. People motivate moral growth. Nazi Germany was the most technologically advanced society in the world when they invaded Poland and set the course for World War II.
The reality is that we are segmenting ourselves from other internet users just by taking part in the HN community. Most people here would admit, the minute HN would spread to the point of being widely adopted, we would all leave. I don't come to HN to be inundated with cat pictures. I'm here because I learn things every time I visit a link posted on HN.
Re: This is a web page
#405Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a great anecdote. Out of curiosity, how did you find the site? I had just turned four at the time, so I don't quite remember what browsing the Internet was like then.
Because other people have given good answers, I just wanted to add.. the Web was so much better linked together back then. Prior to Altavista made searching useful most of the time, it was common to rely on jumping from one site to another through plentiful link pages, web rings, and lists of resources that people had put together. There was also Usenet which people often posted links on and which was sorted by topic…
Did you use tabs back then?
Re: This is a web page
#406Re: This is a web page
#407Re: This is a web page
#408This was a bit of an obsession of mine ever since I saw Coding Horror a few years ago. I had seen a lot of extremely minimalist designs, but they were all doing things to accomplish that minimalism. As a developer though, you have a nagging feeling in the back of your brain saying "that's a lie, it's not simple, it's very complicated, it just looks simple." Coding Horror is complex, but it was plain enough for me to…
Sadly you chose a font that only works when it's gauss-blurred. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10190786/bad_font.png
I chose Source Sans Pro, probably the most fully developed, supported and profesional open typeface available.
What OS/Browser are you using that destroys type like that?
Re: This is a web page
#409Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a great anecdote. Out of curiosity, how did you find the site? I had just turned four at the time, so I don't quite remember what browsing the Internet was like then.
Because other people have given good answers, I just wanted to add.. the Web was so much better linked together back then. Prior to Altavista made searching useful most of the time, it was common to rely on jumping from one site to another through plentiful link pages, web rings, and lists of resources that people had put together. There was also Usenet which people often posted links on and which was sorted by topic…
Wow, web rings, huge nostalgia for that!
Re: This is a web page
#410This was a bit of an obsession of mine ever since I saw Coding Horror a few years ago. I had seen a lot of extremely minimalist designs, but they were all doing things to accomplish that minimalism. As a developer though, you have a nagging feeling in the back of your brain saying "that's a lie, it's not simple, it's very complicated, it just looks simple." Coding Horror is complex, but it was plain enough for me to…
IMO: The logo mouseover is the one giant blaring loud thing on a page that's generally softer, more muted. I'd suggest you make the transition a bit more subtle, from dark grey to grayish blue rather than solid black to solid blue.
Thank you for the feedback. I plan on doing some more work on the site soon, and I will keep that in mind.