Subject: RE: [hackers-il] Meaningful Site URLs

From: Chen Shapira <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 22:48:42 +0200

> Call me a geek, but I say meaningful URLs are important.

I will call you a geek, but for other reasons.

URL is considered an important part on the user interface.
Most users are capable of reading URL's, and it helps if the url aids
navigation within the site, with good url's users don't feel lost in the
site.

For more experienced users, it helps searching the site, as Nadav mentioned.

Here's what the expert says:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990321.html

Chen.

(BTW, that site has lots and lots of great documents about web usability)

P.S.
As I learned recently, the best way to learn alot about usability issues is
to sit 2 floors below your biggest customer.
You'll know of every single usability problem instantly, and as you improve,
your feet won't hurt as much.

---

From: "Nadav Har'El" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 23:00:26 +0300

> Most users are capable of reading URL's, and it helps if the url aids

Are you sure this is true? Most non-expert I know, and I'm talking about
educated people - not idiots, don't even know the difference between
a dot and a slash, or what is "org", or why these URLs so long, or what
do they mean. Just listen to people reading out URLs on the radio, or
look at URLs that appear in the newspaper: do they look like they are
written/read by someone who knows what the URL means? Many times, I think
the answer is no.

Heck, many non-experts don't even know the difference between surfing the
web and running an application (microsoft's monopoly-tactic integration
and stuff like Java, Flash and activeX help complete the illusion), and
there are no URLs in applications, are there?

BTW, I'm surprised Microsoft still keeps displaying the URL by default
(hmm... did they change this in IE 6?).

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |        Sunday, Sep  9 2001, 22 Elul 5761
[email-masked]             |-----------------------------------------
Phone: +972-53-245868, ICQ 13349191 |The human mind is like a parachute - it
http://nadav.harel.org.il           |functions better when it is open.

---

From: Oleg Goldshmidt <[email-masked]>
Date: 10 Sep 2001 10:40:24 +0300

> your feet won't hurt as much.

Another route - from my own past experience - is to sift through your
company's help desk logs, identify experienced and intelligent users
of your products, contact them directly, help them solve their current
problems, and then give them your direct number. the result is just
one level removed from open source development ;-)

-- 
Oleg Goldshmidt | [email-masked] 
"If it ain't broken, it has not got enough features yet."