Re: Correction, I hope, of M/C URL

On 15 Mar 00, at 19:02, Sally Caves wrote:

> John Cowan wrote:
> >
> > Jeffrey Henning wrote:
> >
> > > [W]hat are the space limits of an electronic journal?
> >
> > The reader's boredom-tolerance level.
>
> Why would that be any different for a print-journal, John?
>
> Sally
Hi ---

I suppose this is an odd time to delurk (I've been lurking for about a
year, mainly because I'm not actively working on a conlang) but the
topic just happened to stumble right into my field (Web
communication)...

You're absolutely right that the boredom tolerance factor is the
same in a print journal. Even more to the point, though, do we
seriously consider the boredom factor in writing? After all, we
expect readers to remain interested in *books*, so there's no
reason to think they'll get bored with a topic faster just because it's
an article rather than a 400 page tome.

In answer to the question of length constraints in an electronic
journal, though, there are a couple of relevant considerations. One
is that (most) people are (generally) reluctant to read large texts on
a computer screen. Considering the amount (and length) of email
we all willingly go through daily on this list alone, I'm reluctant to
blame the monitor, although some people do chalk it up to glare,
etc.

The other factors that come into play online are potentially more
aggravating. There is the navigation of a large text, for example,
because people *do* stop scrolling after a while (it's documented
that the average Web user scrolls 1.5 screen lengths and then
stops).  The alternative to scrolling is to offer the "next page"
hyperlink, as in the Media/Culture journal article. The problem with
this is that (like scrolling) it requires the users to draw their
attention away from the text and go through the physical motions
of "point and click"... something that we generally only do in email
when we are *changing* from one (completed) message to another,
not in the middle of a narrative/exposition. (And I have to say that
the *combination* of scrolling and clicking to the next page is
something I was really surprised to see in a journal that should
know that both make reading more difficult.)

In addition, what I find most disturbing with long texts online and
which has been documented as one of the biggest problems with
the Web, is the sense of unlimited information. This can really
intimidate and disorient people and it does not lead to a positive
experience with the material, at all. In this M/C article, unless you
clicked on the "download" option, there was no way to know when
or if the article ended... until you hit the last page. When we pick
up a book, even a 400 page tome, we have a sense of it's length,
we can gather a sense of its scope from skimming the pages
quickly before reading it, something that's not practical on the Web.

I thought the article itself was really interesting, by the way :)
Congrats, Sally.

-Ty

Wield fiercely the power to disbelieve
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