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Subject:

Re: FW: Forget usability, try readability !

From:

Rachel Cockett <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Museums Computer Group <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Thu, 13 Feb 2003 11:26:47 +0000

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (244 lines)

Dear Colin,
Could I have a copy too please? ( your email address doesn't appear in your
email, so we can't email you offlist)

Rachel Cockett
System Administrator
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Chamberlain Square
B3 3DH
or
 [log in to unmask]

Thank you,
Rachel




Susan Fell <[log in to unmask]> on 13/02/2003 10:26:40

Please respond to Museums Computer Group <[log in to unmask]>

To:   [log in to unmask]
cc:    (bcc: Rachel Cockett/LeisureServices/BCC)

Subject:  FW: Forget usability, try readability !



        Dear Colin,
        Please could you add my name to your mailing list for the
readability document.  Thank you in anticipation,
        Susan J Fell
        Acting Keeper
        Leicestershire County Council Heritage Services
        Charnwood Museum
        Granby Street
        Loughborough
        LE11 3DU

        T: 01509 233737

-----Original Message-----
From: Wendy Sudbury [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 12 February 2003 18:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Forget usability, try readability !


I'd be very grateful for a copy of your readability document.  I monitor a
number of projects where access is a big issue and am always trying to keep
up to date with the latest ideas.  Thankyou.
Dr Wendy Sudbury
Director
Cambridge Management Group
47 Linhope Street
London NW1 6HL
Tel:  +44 (0) 207 723 1627
Fax:  +44 (0) 207 723 7077
email: [log in to unmask]
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Hynson, Colin
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: 28 January 2003 10:12
  Subject: Re: Forget usability, try readability !


  Dear all,

  I have produced a document/style sheet on producing readable text for
  museum, library, archive websites. E-list etiquette means that I cannot
  attach it to this message so if you would like a copy then please reply
  to me off-list.

  Colin Hynson
  Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Richard Freeman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
  Sent: 28 January 2003 09:57
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Subject: Forget usability, try readability !


  Hi all,

  Apologies to those that caught this on the e-learning list, and who
  probably popped along for our meeting at the museum, but I feel it is
  worth
  repeating. As the educationalist for the NoF PortCities project, I spend
  my
  entire time working with authors to help them create readable and
  understandable text and feel it is this element which is often ignored
  (I
  have expanded on this in an article in the Times Higher Educational
  Supplement this friday).

  With an average reading age of twelve in the UK population, I am fairly
  confident that many people will have no idea what "facilitate
  collaborative
  working by researchers on our two digitisation projects" (extract from
  www.historyshelf.org) actually means. If you mean the project is taking
  pictures of paintings, drawings and pots from museums in East Lothian,
  putting them on a website and involves people from all over the area
  then
  say so.

  Many of the sites on www.enrichuk.net that are **launched** have issues
  with their level of english used. The museum sector, in common with
  academia, has fantastic content but sometimes produces material that
  believe polysyllables equate to intelligence whereas often high syllable
  words and complex language tend to hide meaning. Through my work, our
  partners are now creating engaging and accessible content which is a
  credit
  to all involved.

  Just my two penceworth,

  Richard
  Consortium Educationalist
  Port Cities - National Maritime Museum
  [log in to unmask]


  ******* Extract from e -learning list ****************

  To sum up my methods in a short email is a tough task so here is a
  summary
  of useful pointers (I hope to expand on this at a future e-learning
  group
  meeting if possible on writing for the web).

  Accessible language
  -------------------
  Hard to define but essentially this means writing for the average
  reading
  age of the UK which is 12. To do this, try and replace or remove high
  syllable words. Place any specialist terms or jargon in a glossary.
  Check
  the reading age with various online tests (e.g.
  http://www.timetabler.com/reading.html#4 on the Fry readability graph)
  or
  using the grammar checker in Word. Keep sentence structure short.

  Front loaded paragraphs
  -----------------------
  Make sure the first paragraph of the material acts as an abstract and
  tells
  the whole story of the piece in brief. Make this as accessible as
  possible
  as this will be scanned by most people to see if they want to read the
  remaining text.

  Clear sections and sub-headings
  -------------------------------
  Divide the material up into clear sections that flow chronologically or
  through the theme. Make sure sub-headings are detailed, almost in
  sentence
  form and explain what the paragraphs below will cover as people will use
  these to jump around the content. Conclude the material with a paragraph
  to
  evaluate or analyse the material you have written.

  Provide external and internal links
  -----------------------------------
  Make sure people can go further so while they are reading your material,
  they could jump off and explore another site then return to your
  material.
  Also ensure that people can easily jump around the story by using the
  sub-
  headings to build the navigation. Links to other material on your site
  are
  great to provide as they will then retain visitors.

  Create a style guide
  ---------------------
  A style guide is a useful tool to add to as you progress to record how
  you
  want the text to be written. For example, are you going to write
  nineteenth
  century or 19th century ? Put in a word list of common phrases that
  could
  be spelt incorrectly or misunderstood by authors. Check out The
  Economist's
  guide (http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/index.cfm) and their
  quiz or the Guardian's guide
  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/0,5817,,00.html) for examples of
  what
  I mean.

  If anyone would like to hear more about the PortCities project or
  writing
  for the web more specifically, I will be organising a group meeting to
  share my experiences and hopefully learn more from all the members on
  the
  list. As soon as I have a date, I will post another message to the list.

  Yours,

  Richard Freeman

   --------------------------------------
  |Consortium Educationalist             |
  |Port Cities - National Maritime Museum|
  |E - [log in to unmask]                |
  |T - 0208 312 6504                     |
  |F - 0870 132 0240                     |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  |This email is personal. It is not authorized by the National Maritime |
  |Museum or the Royal Observatory Greenwich. All contents of the e-mail |
  |is the personal responsibility of the sender.                         |
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------


  The information contained in this email is intended only for the person or
organization to which it is addressed.  If you have received it by mistake,
please disregard and notify the sender immediately.  Unauthorized disclosure
or use of such information may be a breach of legislation or confidentiality
and may be legally privileged.

  Emails sent from and received by Members and employees of Norfolk County
Council may be monitored.

  Unless this email relates to Norfolk County Council business it will be
regarded by the Council as personal and will not be authorized by or sent on
behalf of the Council.  The sender will have sole responsibility for any
legal actions or disputes that may arise.


_______________________________________________________________________
The contents of this message do not necessarily represent the
opinions, views, policy or procedures of Leicestershire County Council.








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The information contained within this e-mail sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and is intended for the named recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us by telephone immediately on +(44) 121 303 6666 (International) or return it to us by e-mail quoting the name of the sender and the addressee.
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