As the number of entries in the glossary has risen some feedback was made that the hyperlinks to it were a distraction, being too bright and too bold.
So, they are now in a deeper red than standard hyperlinks and are not in bold. Italics have also been removed.
They now might look like this:
Is that better? Adding the glossary appears to be important but making it a distraction is not the aim. If you have an opinion might you let me know?
It was to seek opinion on this that the idea of adding polling to the site occurred to me (although once I had realised it was possible I saw the potential for other purposes) so can I do a poll on this?
Are the new hyperlinks:
- About right? (78%, 72 Votes)
- I'm abstaining, but show me the results anyway (12%, 11 Votes)
- Too prominent? (5%, 5 Votes)
- Not obvious enough? (4%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 92
Loading ...Comments are also welcome: it is important that I get this right for as many readers as possible.
And on another blogging-related issue, the inclusion of polls boosted traffic considerably yesterday. 9,000 reads on a Saturday is unusual but was recorded yesterday.
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Can I also suggest a plug-in such as https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/pojo-accessibility/ which “make your WordPress website more accessible.” to people with various physical restrictions. I use it on my site at https://www.mmt.works it is the “wheelchair symbol” in the top-right corner. Other plugins are available. https://blog.hubspot.com/website/wordpress-accessibility-plugin
I like that a lot
That is on next week’s agenda now
Very good indeed. Thank you
If you want people to realise there is a difference between links to external materials and to the glossary, I’m not convinced that relying on slightly different shades of red is a good choice. Different colour, or fonts, could work, or more explicit labelling – such as following a reference to external work with something like “(link)” – with the hyperlink in the brackets – for example.
But I’m here for the content not the design so perhaps it does not matter too much. I didn’t find the previous style irritating or intrusive.
I didn’t have a problem with the previous version either….
But some did
I think this one better but do wonder whether italics did help
For me, it’s quite a subtle difference.
You could also experiment with different underlines – dotted or dashed – for either the hyperlinks or your glossary.
I have a real problem with underlining – to me it is either shouting or a mistake
As they’re red, they should also be underlined. As it stands, some readers who are colour blind won’t be able to see them.
I hope to add a button to do this next week
I have to say that it works for me as it is and I appreciate the effort by you and others to improve the blog.
There may be more tinkering next week and I am meant to be on a writing and thinking week
‘A writing and thinking week’.
I like the sound of that! I’ll talk to my line manager about doing something similar in my team next week.
I admit, an advantage of my job. I am paid to do such things.
“I admit, an advantage of my job. I am paid to do such things.”
you don’t have a job., you rely on handouts to tap away on twitter 24/7… that is not a job. But you go kidding yourself..
Sheffield University think I have a job
So do my colleagues at Copenhagen Business School
And so do those who pay me to think
So, tell me, what do you think a job is?
How many hours lecturing have you done at Sheffield or Copenhagen?? I believe the answer is zero!!
When I am on research contracts that do not include lecturing how many hours lecturing would you expect me to do?
Many years ago I was Senior Research Fellow attached to the Mathematical Institute at Oxford University. I probably worked harder then than I did before or since, mainly because I enjoyed the job. And, no, I didn’t do any teaching.
I enjoy teaching too, but research is also an important part of the function if universities.
Agreed!
I too found the bright red italics very distracting; the new format is much better, even if still a bit intrusive for my taste. I do like the idea of a dashed underline very much. The dashes will take away the sense of shouting and make a clear distinction with any other emphasis or links.
Another possibility is to only link to the glossary the first time a term is used in a post. This was the obligatory style in the scientific journals where I used to submit articles, back in the day. The first time a new term was used, it appeared in italics followed by its definition in parenthesis. After that it’s assumed the reader understands the term.
The programming required for the second optuinnisva but in the heavy side I think
I will look at dashed underlining, but I always find underlining distracting but will try with an open mind
Agree entirely. I think a visible link on every use of a glossed term is going to be very disruptive of the flow of reading, and understanding, especially given the comprehensive nature of the glossary as it is developing. An alternative to just highlighting the first occurence I’d be comfortable with would be a global user control of the glossary highlighting, so it could be switched off altogether, or reduced to something almost invisible, except when specifically wanted.
I will investigate the single reference option but think it unlikely to be viable in terms of programming and even desirability
Thanks for commenting though
I am pleased that most now think the balance about right
I do hope to add more options for changing the appearance of the site this week.
I think the typeface should be uniform for the whole blog – it’s easier to read – just different colours for external links and your own glossary. We will soon get used to the colours you choose. Lots of info here – https://duckduckgo.com/?q=best+colour+for+hyperlinks&t=iphone&ia=web
Thank you
Appreciated and read with interest
Perhaps a button to turn of links for ease of reading.
See the new options now available that I will blog about soon