RE: Q&A content

Richard,

Since it was my question, I could draft an "article" for the E&O part. Is
there an existing format or set of guidelines to which this should conform?

Thanks,
Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Ishida [mailto:ishida@w3.org]
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 9:38 AM
To: Arko, Phil; public-i18n-geo@w3.org
Subject: RE: Q&A content


See below/...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-i18n-geo-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:public-i18n-geo-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Arko, Phil
> Sent: 06 June 2003 21:34
> To: 'public-i18n-geo@w3.org'
> Subject: Q&A content
> 
> 
> 
> Greetings all,
> 
> In trying to come up with Q&A content, I was trying to think 
> of how to appeal to a broader audience. In my opinion, the 
> current questions were too advanced, and I fear that they 
> might scare away those that are just starting to explore--or 
> expand into--this area. After reading the previous emails, I 
> see that others have already been thinking that way. These 
> are all great questions! I think we could probably use a few 
> even more elementary questions as well. Below are a few of 
> what I was thinking. Any thoughts?
> 
> 
> 1. Why are the benefits of adding international-friendly code?
> 
>     - quick overview of benefits 
>     - demographics of "who" is using the web
>     - quick mention of the markup languages,
>       and how they work together (Unicode, XML, XHTML, etc.)
>     - quick mention of internationalization and localization
>     - long-term business benefits



We could add this to the Q&A - I'm not sure how long the answer ought to
be.  What might be an interesting approach is to write something up
under our Education & Outreach arm that could be summarised and pointed
to in a Q&A (or start with the Q&A then write something longer).  WAI
has also produced something along these lines for accessibility.

Any takers for the E&O part?




> 
> 
> 2. What are the first steps in migrating an existing 
> HTML-based site to an international-friendly multilingual 
> enabled XHTML site?
> 
>     - walk through a suggested process at a very basic level
>       (including analyzing their business requirements and
>       future business growth plans)
>     - what skills and/or knowledge are needed 
>       (refer to supplemental resources)
>     - introduce some considerations to help decide 
>       what's best for their site/product


Yes - again just wondering about length, and whether we should use a
similar approach as for the previous question.


> 
> 
> 3. What are the next steps...?
> 
>     - <this could be a "Part 2" to the above question>
> 
> 
> 4. Which web authoring applications can be used to create 
> multilingual XHTML?
> 
>     - <This is often very useful, but do we 
>       want to cover this topic?>


Hmm.  I can see how useful this would be.  I use Xmetal 3.0 and Notepad
on Windows XP, so I don't ask this question any more, but before I found
these I asked it all the time.  The key thing is to avoid the appearance
of deprecating or promoting any particular company's offering.  We would
have to be very objective and provide good coverage.  It would also be a
good idea to consult with the companies involved at some point.  Should
we add a note allowing other tools vendors to send in information about
their tools??? I'm worried that might get messy - too many small things.
Perhaps we should just choose the most widely used tools, and list the
good things they provide.


> 
> 
> 5. What design & editorial considerations are there for 
> multilingual sites?
> 
>     - discuss and give examples of:
>        - current language indicator (& change selector)
>        - country indicator (& change selector)
>        - font software requirements
>        - font treatments across different cultures
>     - quick overview of cultural differences in:
>       - time/date formats
>       - punctuation
>       - etc...
>     - refer to supplemental internationalization resources 
>       which discuss cultural concerns dealing with color,
>       religion, etc.


Hmm.  Interesting.  On the face of it, I'd say that this was what the
guidelines were all about.  But it might be useful to have something
that points up some examples of key areas where issues occur as a
persuader / counterpart to question 1.  This is a tricky topic for a Q&A
because it's difficult to say when you have provided a complete enough
answer.

Hth
ri

> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Phil Arko
> Siemens
>

Received on Monday, 9 June 2003 11:02:02 UTC