[thelist] news.com article on browsers and mainstream sites etc..

[aardvark]

> From: "Chris W. Parker" <cparker at swatgear.com>
[...]
> <rant>shouldn't those small urls be considered a negative thing when
> it comes to usability? i understand this is not a website, but c'mon.
> what if it leads to a website i have no desire to go to?
[...]

i actually don't like them for a few reasons:

- i can't see where the link is going...  i don't trust all links, and
there have been a few here on the list where i wasted my time on
links i had already visited that i would have known had i seen the
full URL...

- often the link description doesn't tell me enough about it before i
go, which is the fault of the author...

- i don't know how long the fake URL will last, so i'd rather see a
real URL in the archives for when i come back and look for it, even
if it *is* 404, i can still at least tell which site had it so i can start
searching...

--
Read the evolt.org case study
Usability: The Site Speaks for Itself
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151035/evoltorg02-20
ISBN: 1904151035