Link text

[D.M. Procida]

<http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/noClickHeresays:

When calling the user to action, use brief but meaningful link text
that:
* provides some information when read out of context
* explains what the link offers
* doesn't talk about mechanics
* is not a verb phrase

I'm not convinced about that last one. The suggestions on that page
include "Get [Amaya]!" and "Tell me more about [Amaya]: W3C's free
editor/browser", both keeping the verb out of the link text.

But one might well have links in the same place, one which links to
information about Amaya, and one which takes you to a download page.

In that case, I think that "[Get Amaya]!" or "[Download Amaya]!" would
be appropriate. Is there some very good reason to keep such verb phrases
out of link text?

Note followups.

Daniele

[David E. Ross]

On 8/22/2007 3:13 PM, D.M. Procida wrote:

<http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/noClickHeresays:

When calling the user to action, use brief but meaningful link text
that:
* provides some information when read out of context
* explains what the link offers
* doesn't talk about mechanics
* is not a verb phrase

I'm not convinced about that last one. The suggestions on that page
include "Get [Amaya]!" and "Tell me more about [Amaya]: W3C's free
editor/browser", both keeping the verb out of the link text.

But one might well have links in the same place, one which links to
information about Amaya, and one which takes you to a download page.

In that case, I think that "[Get Amaya]!" or "[Download Amaya]!" would
be appropriate. Is there some very good reason to keep such verb phrases
out of link text?

Note followups.

Daniele

Those are recommendations regarding the style of writing Web pages.
They are not specifications of syntax.

I tend to write in complete sentences, with subjects (nouns) and
predicates (verbs). Then, my link text is usually a noun phrase within
a sentence. Occasionaly, I actually have a complete sentence as the
text of a link, when no one part of the sentence seems to stand out for
that use. See my (now notorious) <http://www.rossde.com/for examples
of both.

Sometimes, however, my Web pages (including my home page) have lists
that are either noun phrases or verb phrases; I try to keep each list
internally consistent but not necessarily consistent with other lists.
Then, the link text may be the entire list item, noun phrase or verb
phrase.

One major point is not to have link text saying something as "Click
here". When I prepare a Web page for a limited audience of rather naïve
users, however, I sometimes violate that rule because I know they will
not recognize links within running text.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Natural foods can be harmful: Look at all the
people who die of natural causes.

[Owen Rees]

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:13:19 +0100,
re************************@apple-juice.co.uk (D.M. Procida) wrote in
<1i39rxk.mto9ciyhmbl3N%re************************@ apple-juice.co.uk>:

>But one might well have links in the same place, one which links to
information about Amaya, and one which takes you to a download page.

In that case, I think that "[Get Amaya]!" or "[Download Amaya]!" would
be appropriate. Is there some very good reason to keep such verb phrases
out of link text?

One possible reason is that the suggested links do not do what they say
they do. Following the link in the usual way does not "Get Amaya" or
"Download Amaya", it gets a page with further links.

Even if the link were to one of the many installation packages, what
happens depends on how your client handles whatever action you use to
request that it do something with the link.

The Amaya page itself is a better example of how to follow the QA Tip
than the example on the QA Tip page.

I think that the main point is that the link text should tell you what
is at the other end of the link and not make assumptions about what any
possible future visitor might do with the link or what effect that will
have.

--
Owen Rees
[one of] my preferred email address[es] and more stuff can be
found at <http://www.users.waitrose.com/~owenrees/index.html>

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit David E. Ross:

One major point is not to have link text saying something as "Click
here".

Yes indeed. But the crucial thing is to understand _why_. Some reasons:
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/www/click.html

When I prepare a Web page for a limited audience of rather
naïve users, however, I sometimes violate that rule because I know
they will not recognize links within running text.

If you think that they will not recognize links within running text, do not
put links within running text.

(If you think they don't recognize links at all, even when presented as
lists of links letting browsers display them in each browser's default style
for links, then you would be writing web pages for people who are assumed to
be unable to use the web.)

--
Jukka K. Korpela ("Yucca")
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/

[John Hosking]

D.M. Procida wrote:

André Gillibert <ta*****************@yahodeletethato.frwrote:

>D.M. Procida wrote, about verbs in link text:

>>But one might well have links in the same place, one which links to
information about Amaya, and one which takes you to a download page.

In that case, I think that "[Get Amaya]!" or "[Download Amaya]!" would
be appropriate.

Even though, I would judge that [Download Amaya] is acceptable, as it's
relatively clear out of context, [Amaya Download] would be better.

"Amaya download" is ugly.

It is?

It looks like "download" is a noun modified by "Amaya".

Isn't it? Shouldn't it be?

You'd never encounter a pair like that in normal English.

Watch out for Republican backlash.
Have a chocolate sundae.
Are we having a linguistic discussion?
Maybe I should provide a _sample link_ for you.

What's wrong with nouns for links? Wikipedia's full of them.
--
John
Pondering the value of the UIP: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

[D.M. Procida]

John Hosking <Jo**@DELETE.Hosking.name.INVALIDwrote:

Even though, I would judge that [Download Amaya] is acceptable, as it's
relatively clear out of context, [Amaya Download] would be better.

"Amaya download" is ugly.

It is?

Yeah. "Download" makes for a very nasty noun.

It looks like "download" is a noun modified by "Amaya".

Isn't it? Shouldn't it be?

I hope not.

You'd never encounter a pair like that in normal English.

Watch out for Republican backlash.
Have a chocolate sundae.
Are we having a linguistic discussion?
Maybe I should provide a _sample link_ for you.

Those don't share the form I'm objecting to. "Republican" is a normal
adjective, and "backlash" is a normal noun; all your examples are
[normal adjective][normal noun] and quite, er, normal.

"Amaya download" is a proper noun followed by a nouned verb.

What's wrong with nouns for links? Wikipedia's full of them.

Nothing whatsoever, but the question is whether verbs should be allowed.

Daniele

[John Hosking]

David E. Ross wrote:

See, for example, the four links in the section "The Tree" at
<http://www.rossde.com/garden_back.html#tree>.

404 :-(

--
John

[David E. Ross]

On 8/27/2007 10:05 AM, John Hosking wrote:

David E. Ross wrote:

>See, for example, the four links in the section "The Tree" at
<http://www.rossde.com/garden_back.html#tree>.

404 :-(

Oops. That should have been
<http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_back.html#tree>.

--

David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>.

The only reason we have so many laws is that not enough people will do
the right thing. (© 1997)