The Web is no place for geek speak
- By Joe Klemmer
- Mar 08, 2000
Technobabble. Geek-speak.
If you are in charge of, or are working on a Web site, you very likely have
waded through your share of the complex, nearly indecipherable language
that comes with any venture into the computer technology world. Most of
the time it isn't a problem. Usually you can turn to someone who can translate
things into English.
But what kind of effect does this high-tech talk have on us? If you work
in an information systems, information management or information technology
organization, you converse this way by nature. But what if you are running
a World Wide Web site? Do you also speak geek as your primary language?
If so, you might be missing something.
Building and administering a Web site are associated with plenty of techie
talk. Technical issues have to be dealt with, including what platform to
run on, what Hypertext Transport Protocol server to use, and what Web authoring
and application development tools to use.
Webmasters spend most of their time dealing with the myriad technical decisions
that come up in the daily grind that is their jobs. But is this what the
focus of running a Web site should be?
There is a saying about the Web: Content is king. The adage goes doubly
so for Web sites run by and for the federal government. Technical issues
are a large part of the work, however, the main focus has to be content.
What you are saying is far more important than how you say it. Commercial
sites, as opposed to federal sites, have to worry far more about things
like presentation and the gee-whiz factor. "Oh, let's put this latest java
doohickey thing in so that our customers will see pretty twirlies."
This doesn't mean that everyone should build text-only Web sites. It does
mean, however, that because of the work we do, we must make sure that information
on our Web sites is clear and easy to understand.
I'll say it again, as federal Webmasters, we have a duty to make sure that
what we publish gets more attention than how we publish it. There are plenty
of tools and resources available to help build and operate Web sites. One
of the better resources for federal Webmasters is the mailing list available
at www.army.mil/webmasters/faq.
But the best way to know if your site is doing its job is to ask the people
who use your site what they think of it. This includes the public as well
as any internal users. Don't be afraid of criticism. Don't dismiss any feedback
out-of-hand. Continue to ask anyone and everyone what they think of the
site. Ask them before, during and after any redesigns or upgrades, too.
Don't take any comments about your site personally, even though you might
get the occasional flamer who is just trying to rattle your cage. These
kind of comments are simply part of being on the Internet. Every comment
made can help you in running your site. Ideas that might not be feasible
can still lead you to something that will add functionality or streamline
your pages.
The best sites are the ones people go to for information. The easier and
faster it is for visitors to find the information, the more they'll come
back. This is, after all, what the web was made for.
Klemmer is a senior Unix system administrator and security analyst at
the Strategic and Advanced Computing Center at Army headquarters. He can
be reached at [email protected].