Forum: Complaint & Debate


Subject: I'd like to know where I stand...

-renapd- opened this issue on Jan 06, 2001 ยท 34 posts


PJF posted Sun, 07 January 2001 at 12:30 AM

Another angle on this: communicating to the lowest common denominator. Just think of the Florida ballot paper; if it was so clear, how come so many people had a problem with it? For various reasons, usually stupidity but sometimes language limitations or perceptual problems (dyslexia, etc) many people don't see things clearly unless they are presented in an absolutely clear and unambiguous fashion (and some people will just never see things clearly). In order to see the background to this thread, I just went to your site to revisit the Rose Dawson page. Even though I'd been there before, and I was deliberately looking for it, it took me a while to find where you describe what is included in the free download. Part of the problem was the fact that your site is all jumbled up in my browser (IE5.5), and part of it was that there is so much varied text information on the page presented in different fonts, different colours and different sizes. With all the flashing and rotating adverts to top (and bottom) it off, my tired and dyslexic brain was soon hurting. Also, people are used to Poser 'characters' coming complete. For example, the Lara Croft character with all its clothes and props and textures, etc. So if you include lots of pictures of your character in clothes on the same page as the download link, it isn't too surprising that the less observant amongst us are confused as to their expectations. Now don't get me wrong. Despite all the problems I had with that page, I still feel it's made pretty clear what to expect from the Rose Dawson download (I could read the Florida ballot paper, too ;-). But not everyone is as bright as me (ducks from barrage of stale bread and rotten fruit), so it won't be as clear to other folk. And these other folk are visiting your website too. It's a bit like road design. There can be bends where idiots will continuously drive their cars off of the road, even though most people seem to be able to negotiate the hazard without problem. Now the authorities have a choice. They can either keep despairing at the constant flow of idiots and spend time and resourses pulling cars out of the ditch, or they can change the road layout at that point so that even idiots can drive. Eventually they nearly always change the road, simply out of pragmatism. I think you face a similar choice. You obviously want to share your fine works, and I think you enjoy that sharing. To save yourself further grief, I suggest revising your website. Now you're entitled to think it is an annoyance to have to set up your site layout and navigation for the lowest intelligance bracket in the community. But it is obviously also a frequent annoyance receiving all these emails about stuff: >>>>>>> They just keep complaining they can't find stuff and I have to guide them patiently with direct URLs <<<<<<< Yes, there are idiots in the world. So you either deal with them once at the beginning, or you do so forever afterwards. Your multiple choice question is: When sharing great stuff on the world wide webb, you can either: - continue as you are and become increasingly frustrated with idiots - give up and stop sharing stuff with anybody - keep sharing stuff and shoot all the idiots - keep sharing stuff and redo your site so that most of the idiots stop bothering you.