SIGIA-L Mail Archives: Re: SIGIA-L: Breadcrumb Trails
Re: SIGIA-L: Breadcrumb Trails
From: Fred Leise (leise_at_argus-inc.com)
Date: Wed Jan 03 2001 - 16:50:00 EST
Ah, but the breadcrumb is important, I think, exactly in showing "where I
can go." Not showing everywhere at once, but giving me the option of going
to a more general subject (higher in the hierarchy being more general). That
way I can try other paths to see if I can find what I'm really looking for.
It's interesting that in searching library subject catalogs, the Library of
Catalog Subject Headings work essentially as breadcrumbs: Literature -
France - 15th Century (I'm making this up.) Oh, I don't want 15th century,
let me go to "Literature - France" and see what trails lead from there.
Maybe I'll find what I need that way. But I'm definitely not interested in
Literature - United States. So from that point of view, one important part
of the breadcrumb is making sure that it is not just a descriptor, but a
series of active links.
Fred Leise
Information Architect
Argus Associates, Inc.
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Fry <mwf24_at_drexel.edu>
To: <sigia-l_at_asis.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 2:58 PM
Subject: RE: SIGIA-L: Breadcrumb Trails
> Betsy Martens wrote:
>
> > I find the "where are you now" information extremely useful.
>
> I don't think you're alone, but I still find it interesting that Jared
Spool
> declared unequivocally at the Web98 conference in Boston that "users don't
> care where they are." I thought he was nuts at the time--I wasn't alone;
he was
> challenged by several in the audience but didn't back down an inch--but I
have
> to admit that I'm intruiged by the idea that "where I am" may not be what
> I really need as much as "where can I go." (I don't recall if this was
> part of Spool's argument.)
>
> In any case, this is a very subtle distinction--I imagine it would be very
> tough to identify experimentally--but I think it's still worth
considering.
> Ultimately, I suspect that the two are very closely related--we use one to
> help determine the other--but it might be very interesting to see how
users
> perform using a system in which they don't know where they are, but have
> no problem seeing where they can go.
>
> Any architects or "wayfinding" experts out there who can shed light on
> this?
>
> mf
>
>
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