Use consistent presentation

Hi,
 
I think we had a very productive meeting this morning.  
 
On the subject of consistency of presentation, I think what we are
trying to say (while still following our own guideline 14.1!) is that
the presentation is similar in design throughout the entire site, and
over a finite period of time (as in, one does not expect the
presentation to continually change on a week-to-week basis).  I did go
talk to one of our graphics designers and he did not like the word
'predictable'!  So perhaps we can consider other words.  A search in the
thesaurus for predictable found:
- obvious
- unsuprising
- expected
- anticipated
- evident
- observable
A search in the thesaurus for consistent found:
- reliable
- constant
- uniform
 
And secondly, on the actual amount of consistency, I have found myself
arguing against the guidelines when discussing this checkpoint with
project managers. For a large site I usually advocate the use of
secondary navigation appearing when on a particular page (for an example
see http://hnb.dhs.vic.gov.au/ds/disabilitysite.nsf/pages/prov vs
http://hnb.dhs.vic.gov.au/ds/disabilitysite.nsf/pages/prog or
http://www.womensultrasound.com.au/dev/ultra.html).  However when I
suggest this I get checkpoint 13.4 thrown at me and told that it can't
be done (usually I then ask why they have employed me if they aren't
going to listen to me- as you can tell this is a sore point!).  So I
believe we should somehow incorporate these navigational mechanisms into
the guidelines, or at the very least, ensure that they aren't outlawed
by the guidelines.  The other thing to consider is the use of breadcrumb
trails (see:
http://www.legalonline.vic.gov.au/CA2569020010C266/All/7002B178A09E591EC
A256958002682E1?OpenDocument&1=Lifestyle~&2=Drugs~&3=Drug+use+and+the+la
w~ or
http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/internet/transport.nsf/headingpagesdisplay
/transport+projectsgreat+ocean+roadstrategy+process+and+timing).
Breadcrumb trails are a very good way of indicating where in the site
you are, especially for those sites that are very large.
 
Happy New Year to everyone!
 
Cheers,
Gian
 
Gian Sampson-Wild
Consultant
 
Member: Web Content Accessibility Group Working Group
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
 
Stanley & Milford
A Software Communication Group Company
Level 16
644 Chapel Street
South Yarra VIC 3141
Australia
Tel. 613 9826 5829
Fax. 613 9826 8336
Mob. 0404 498 030
Email gian@stanleymilford.com.au

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