--- Fred Bauder fredbaud@ctelco.net wrote:
The issue is always download speed when we serve a diverse international audience and at least make noises about serving the poor and the third world. Serving up articles over 100kb long with several images each over 200kb will basically stop a slower computer with limited memory operating with a modem in its tracks, sometimes even requiring a reboot. Essentially the site becomes unusable.
There is also the issue of print. So while Wikipedia is not paper, it would be nice to include articles on every major topic without having to cut down more trees than needed. So we should summarize much more often and move more detailed text to daughter articles (we'd likely only print selected parent articles in a print version).
Readers also very often have limited time and/or patience (especially on the Internet). More condensed treatments should be available to serve those readers while at the same time links to related articles can provide the detail for those who need that. By 'more condensed' I mean articles that are in the size range of a normal college term paper (10-15 printed 8.5x11 pages of prose with standard font).
-- mav
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On Friday, May 20, 2005 10:38 PM, Daniel Mayer maveric149@yahoo.com wrote:
More condensed treatments should be available to serve those readers while at the same time links to related articles can provide the detail for those who need that. By 'more condensed' I mean articles that are in the size range of a normal college term paper (10-15 printed 8.5x11 pages of prose with standard font).
After brief discussion over this in IRC, this would apparently be approximately 2500 to 3500 words or so, without formatting, or about 9-14 pages of A4 (judging by total area according to http://www.betweenborders.com/a4/ so this might be a bit off).
HTH for others who weren't... blessed by an American education. :-)
Yours,
On Fri, 20 May 2005, Daniel Mayer wrote:
--- Fred Bauder fredbaud@ctelco.net wrote:
The issue is always download speed when we serve a diverse international audience and at least make noises about serving the poor and the third world. Serving up articles over 100kb long with several images each over 200kb will basically stop a slower computer with limited memory operating with a modem in its tracks, sometimes even requiring a reboot. Essentially the site becomes unusable.
There is also the issue of print. So while Wikipedia is not paper, it would be nice to include articles on every major topic without having to cut down more trees than needed. So we should summarize much more often and move more detailed text to daughter articles (we'd likely only print selected parent articles in a print version).
Readers also very often have limited time and/or patience (especially on the Internet). More condensed treatments should be available to serve those readers while at the same time links to related articles can provide the detail for those who need that. By 'more condensed' I mean articles that are in the size range of a normal college term paper (10-15 printed 8.5x11 pages of prose with standard font).
College term papers generally are double-spaced. Internet printouts tend to be single spaced. Sure you're not taking that into account?