Discusssing folder structure and URL scheme
By Dumziii Mofolo on
This blog post is about my folder structure, inspiring websites and insights on readings done
Folder structure:
1.Root directory folder: /WSOA3028A_2444372.
2.Images Folder with png and jpg files.
3.Weekly Blogs folder with weekly blog posts.
4.Styles folder with CSS scripts stored here.
5.JavaScript Folder with JS scripts stored here.
6. All other html documents will be stored in folders as will be shown below.
HTML Documents Structure:
|-- /Profile | |-- Profile.html
|-- /Weekly_Blogs | |-- BlogPage.html
|-- /Design | |-- Design.html | |-- StylesGuide.html
|-- /Essays | |-- Essays.html
|-- /Portfolio | |-- Portfolio work.html
|-- /Commentary | |-- Social and Political Commentary.html
|-- /Software | |-- Behance and Art Station.html
|-- index.html [Main Index or Homepage]
My preferred URL Scheme is the HTTP/HTTPS Protocol:
This is because with this scheme , it is easier to transfer information via networked devices(so users connected to the internet) and other users can also easily access that information from whichever web browser they are using. For secure or private webpages, i will also use the HTTPS scheme for more security especially because at some point, some webpages will require login inputs before accessing information contained in certain webpages.
Your first wireframe ideas and explain what you are thinking of doing:
Inspiring Websites:
Social-cultural and political websites :
(The following website link contains graphical images and thus , viewer discretion is advised)
I find this website particularly useful and very educational with reference to how it underscores the stages
at which the global genocidal war between Israel and Palestine is at as well offer social commentary on the
effects of Israel atrocious inhumane acts against Palestinian people in Gaza. I have been using it since late
October last year and it really helps with keeping one up to date with everything concerned with the continuing
genocide and the fatalities to date. I particularly also really like user experience this websites simulates in
how it juxtaposes the section of the war with images alongside that illustrate the extent of the Israel's genocidal
acts onto the Palestine people in Gaza as part of the evidence. This encourages faster traversal of the website and
better visual and textual understanding and feedback as far as the subject matter is concerned.
On a lighter note, here are some websites with cool interfaces that I would like my websites to be informed by :
Music websites:
( this helps with finding tiny desk concerts of artists that one likes to listen to.
Apart from how user friendly the website is, i really also like the non-trivial effort user invest in intentionally placed icons that prompt
users to click on them to traverse what else it has to offer besides the performances of shows . This ultimately encourages non-passive scrolling
and active traversal of the page and its elements at large.)
Gaming websites:
( mostly used to watch live streaming of differently released games which i find very educational
and it also has games that can be played too. Its user interfaces are designed to accommodate the various reasons why the person visiting the website
would want to get from it. This is particularly interesting if we consider the way the latter statement facilitates the user experience the user ultimately
gets from the way the website icons and elements have been structured to induce very particular website experiences).
Reading Websites:
For all my people who enjoy reading, this is a real plug.
Very cool website! From the user interface to the overall usefulness in how it aids non-traditional readers to not lose their habit of reading
( which encourages users to keep coming back to it because of the experience they receive from using the website )
Reflect on Moulthrop, S. (2003) "You Say You Want a Revolution? Hypertext and the Laws of Media (1991)":
how does it speak to the internet today?
This reading was a lot to unpack and to be honest , i read as far as i could get to the crux of the subject matter.
Moulthrop explores the concept of hypertext, upon which he delves into the complexities of the democratization of hypertexts
as the driving force for ideas of online censorships, digital privacy and the decentralization of control especially amongst various platforms (Moulthrop, 2003).
Furthermore, Moulthrop delves deeper into what people understand hypertext systems to be from a hypertext.
He describes the beginning of hypertext systems with the purchase of the Xanadu Operating Company , from which the Web was borne upon the internet.
More than anything, parts of what stood out from reading Moulthrop's works is the understanding he begins to unpack of how hypertext systems do not
replace books but in fact, they become very paramount pieces of technology from which people can obtain knowledge from because the discourse that
underpins hyper textuality is one that is not book bounded and thus can be modified.
To support his argument , he draws his points from other authors such as Nelson from which he demonstrate the point of how hypertext systems are essentially
an extension of literature and successors of print technology where users who engage with the same systems do not passively receive discourse but they explore
and construct links.
He speaks about a very particular term that informs the understanding of how users engage with the internet today.
He speaks about "Hyperreality " in conjunction with the idea of technological abjection where users find themselves hopelessly abandoned into simulation because
of decentralization of control that exists on the internet and the platforms people use to access it.
It is at this point, after having read as far as to the laws of media that when reflecting on the reading in retrospect, I understood the point he was making
regarding the idea of how democratized information over the internet has been and the role that hypertext systems will play in emancipating the users from
a world of simulation, where platforms control and use the information of users to turn users into "simulacral subjects that cycle around various iterations".
He speaks about the concepts of hypertext systems as one that transcends hyperreality ( in a sense that because of the knowledge that users will gain from using
hypertext systems), they will be able to distinguish grounding utterances from self-referrential ones because they will not be fully controlled and we be aware of
the way in which dissipate their information on the web.
They wont fall prey to technological abjection because of Nelson's Xanadu project that advocates for hypertext as an agency for change.
Reflecting on interaction and the www:
I understand interaction as the exchange of meaning between two people or things. If one interacts with something, they immediately expect some sort of response.
This speaks to Aaron Smuts idea of responsiveness and how the interactivity of something relies on its ability to not be controlled and thus respond in a randomized way.
It is more than the idea of passive scrolling and scanning of text but its in the way that interaction fosters connection, induces effective information gathering that it
underscores the epitome of good incorporation of user experience.
The same way in which the Norman's Door encourages the use of confusing UI, what lies at the heart of an interactive websites is also distinct user interface that aims to
foster a intuitive user experience. It shouldn't have to be confusing to the user to traverse a space crafted to derive knowledge and information from.
As Hanli said in class, what sets designers from artists is our ability to create solutions and manipulate the way in which people engage with spaces and artefacts that
we design for them and therefore to foster a better engagement experience , it is paramount to consider the interaction experience your artefact will induce in the users.
(Geyser, H. 2023)
References:
-
Geyser, H. (2023) ‘Designing Interaction’, [Lecture], WSOA3028A: Interactive Media 3A, University of the Witwatersrand, 16 March 2023.
-
Moulthrop, S. (2003) "You Say You Want a Revolution? Hypertext and the Laws of Media (1991)", in N. Wardrip-Fruin and N. Montfort (eds) The New Media Reader. HAR/CDR edition.
Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press
Music websites: ( this helps with finding tiny desk concerts of artists that one likes to listen to. Apart from how user friendly the website is, i really also like the non-trivial effort user invest in intentionally placed icons that prompt users to click on them to traverse what else it has to offer besides the performances of shows . This ultimately encourages non-passive scrolling and active traversal of the page and its elements at large.)
Gaming websites: ( mostly used to watch live streaming of differently released games which i find very educational and it also has games that can be played too. Its user interfaces are designed to accommodate the various reasons why the person visiting the website would want to get from it. This is particularly interesting if we consider the way the latter statement facilitates the user experience the user ultimately gets from the way the website icons and elements have been structured to induce very particular website experiences).
Reading Websites: For all my people who enjoy reading, this is a real plug. Very cool website! From the user interface to the overall usefulness in how it aids non-traditional readers to not lose their habit of reading ( which encourages users to keep coming back to it because of the experience they receive from using the website )
To support his argument , he draws his points from other authors such as Nelson from which he demonstrate the point of how hypertext systems are essentially an extension of literature and successors of print technology where users who engage with the same systems do not passively receive discourse but they explore and construct links. He speaks about a very particular term that informs the understanding of how users engage with the internet today. He speaks about "Hyperreality " in conjunction with the idea of technological abjection where users find themselves hopelessly abandoned into simulation because of decentralization of control that exists on the internet and the platforms people use to access it. It is at this point, after having read as far as to the laws of media that when reflecting on the reading in retrospect, I understood the point he was making regarding the idea of how democratized information over the internet has been and the role that hypertext systems will play in emancipating the users from a world of simulation, where platforms control and use the information of users to turn users into "simulacral subjects that cycle around various iterations". He speaks about the concepts of hypertext systems as one that transcends hyperreality ( in a sense that because of the knowledge that users will gain from using hypertext systems), they will be able to distinguish grounding utterances from self-referrential ones because they will not be fully controlled and we be aware of the way in which dissipate their information on the web. They wont fall prey to technological abjection because of Nelson's Xanadu project that advocates for hypertext as an agency for change.