Pro/Forums - View Single Post - why techie sites don't cross-link their good articles ??

Cathar · 02-17-2003, 05:26 PM

I really like the idea. I'm now thinking of implementation.

OC.com possibly comes closest, but it is an eclectic collection of article of mixed quality and varying degrees of (mis)-information, and is inadequately indexed.

Also, I'd vote for the articles to be hosted at the same site. All too often these "gem" articles suddenly disappear when a site goes off-air. Provide a link to them by all means, but also keep a back-up copy formatted in a manner consistent to the hosting web site.

Really though, what we're talking about is a HUGE editorial task of collecting and collating information, reading over it, ascertaining the quality bits, perhaps even culling inaccurate sections (as is often the case of good information mixed with "not-so-good" in the same article).

Indexing articles by keywords is an excellent idea. I'd love a well thought out index that linked keywords to articles, and a small search function that allowed one to type in a few keywords and in a google fashion bring up a small list of pertinent articles.

The quality of such also depends on the quality of the editor(s). I'd say it's too huge for one person to undertake, but perhaps for a group of the dedicated it may be manageable.

Another way to invite content is to browse the forums for interesting experiments, and then invite the pary to write a summary piece for the site, and have it vetted by the editors, rather than linking to a hodge-podge forum thread of mixed garbage with a few gems, or the editors could do this in their stead.

I'm guessing it's a good idea. There are some keen minded individuals being Bill, Phaestus, myv65 (Dave Smith), Les, who all just quickly would make great editorial staff.

02-17-2003, 05:26 PM	#9
Cathar Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,538	I really like the idea. I'm now thinking of implementation. OC.com possibly comes closest, but it is an eclectic collection of article of mixed quality and varying degrees of (mis)-information, and is inadequately indexed. Also, I'd vote for the articles to be hosted at the same site. All too often these "gem" articles suddenly disappear when a site goes off-air. Provide a link to them by all means, but also keep a back-up copy formatted in a manner consistent to the hosting web site. Really though, what we're talking about is a HUGE editorial task of collecting and collating information, reading over it, ascertaining the quality bits, perhaps even culling inaccurate sections (as is often the case of good information mixed with "not-so-good" in the same article). Indexing articles by keywords is an excellent idea. I'd love a well thought out index that linked keywords to articles, and a small search function that allowed one to type in a few keywords and in a google fashion bring up a small list of pertinent articles. The quality of such also depends on the quality of the editor(s). I'd say it's too huge for one person to undertake, but perhaps for a group of the dedicated it may be manageable. Another way to invite content is to browse the forums for interesting experiments, and then invite the pary to write a summary piece for the site, and have it vetted by the editors, rather than linking to a hodge-podge forum thread of mixed garbage with a few gems, or the editors could do this in their stead. I'm guessing it's a good idea. There are some keen minded individuals being Bill, Phaestus, myv65 (Dave Smith), Les, who all just quickly would make great editorial staff.