Translations Available (click a flag to view):
This is the third draft of the site map design notes.
Please send comments to DeaconJohn. His email address is in his info page.
The Site Map is here.
More Site-Map Notes
- The site map is information oriented, not page oriented.
- There is also a page oriented version of the site map.
- The page-oriented site-map is an abbreviated version of the information-oriented site-map. It omits the links that point to the interior of a help page. It is useful for previewing all the help pages on the site. It is also useful for the user who wants to get to a specific page.
- There is a Site Map link and an Up One Level link at the bottom of most help pages.
- Site Map links point one or more levels up in the site-map.
- The current page may appear more than once in the site map.
- The site-map position chosen for the Site Map link is the one that gives the user the most information.
- Up One Level links points into a page that is one level up.
- Up One Level links point to the part of the higher-level page that is most relevant to the current page.
- There may be more than one page that is one-level-up from the current page.
- The Up One Level link points to the page that givers the user the most information.
- Site Map and Up One Level links are followed by target identifiers.
- Target-ids help the user understand why the links point where they do.
- Phrases in the target-id that are displayed in blue provide important clues for the reason a link points where it does.
- All help pages are included in the site map.
- That is, all the English help pages are included.
- The help-editor pages are an exception. They are intentionally excluded from the site map. The help-editor pages are not user-oriented.
- The purpose of the site map is to help the new user find the information they are looking for as easily as possible.
- The site map structure makes the site map easier to use. The structure is intended to be both logical and intuitive.
There are three primary entry points to the help pages. They are as follows.
These three entry points are illustrated in Figure 1.
KGS Web Site
Main KGS Window
CGoban Client
⇓
⇓
⇓
Help Pages
Figure 1 Primary Entry Points
The site-map network consists of three primary trees that are based on the three primary entry points.
These three trees are displayed on the top level of the site map.
- There are three sub-trees that are also displayed on the top level of the site map. The logical positions of these sub-trees are given in the table below. Their Up One Level links point to the page that is one level up from their logical position. Their Site Map links point to their top-level position in the site map. These sub-trees are listed both on the top level of the site map and and in their logical position.
- Notes:
- Links followed by an asterisk (*) point into the site map.
- Introduction to KGS is a sub-page of Main KGS Window. It is listed in Index Box and it has its own Up One Level link.
- The three primary trees are disjoint with four exceptions:
For the first three of these four pages, the Site Map link points to one position and the Up One Level link points to the other.
- KGS Plus has neither a Site Map link nor an Up One Level link.
- For those help pages that do have Site Map and Up One level links, the target of the link is labeled (with a target identifier). This lets the user know where the link points without having to click on it.
- Set Preferences and "New Game" Window are secondary entry points into the KGS help pages. Server Stats is another secondary entry point.
- Automatch logically belongs to both the Main KGS Window tree and the Playing Games sub-tree of the Welcome tree. It is similar to the "New Game" Window in this respect.
- However, the SM and the UOL links point into the same tree, namely the Playing Games tree. This is because the Automatch pages need work.
- These four exceptions prevent the site map structure from being simply the union of four trees. But, the site map structure is still a network.
- The site-map network structure reflects the structure of the underlying site network. There are three other networks whose structures also reflect the site-network structure.
These four network structures are not the same, but, they are reasonably compatible with each other. Significant differences between them are noted under the "Exception" headings in the Implementation section of these notes.
- Some pages are displayed in two different primary trees even though they logically belong to only one primary tree. Many of the pages displayed in Main FAQ are also displayed elsewhere.
- Unfinished Games is unusual in that it is not displayed in its logical position. It is displayed under the Main FAQ sub-tree of Welcome to KGS, even though it logically belongs in the Newbie FAQ sub-tree. This is because Unfinished Games is TMI to present to a newbie.
- Site Map links
- A Site Map link points one or more levels up in the site-map structure. The idea is to show related topics. The position of the Site Map link is usually found one or two levels up in the Up Level Link structure.
- Examples
- Exceptions
- The if the page belong to two of the primary trees, then the Site Map link points to the position opposite from the Up One Level link. There are four such pages.
- The Site Map links for the top level pages point to themselves.
- Up One Level links
- An Up One Level link points one level up in the site-map structure.
If a page occurs more once in the site map, the position where the page belongs in the structural logic of the site map is chosen for the Up One Level link. If the pages has two logical positions, the Site Map Link points to one and the Up One Level link points to the other.
Usually the position chosen for the Up One Level link is the one where the page first appears.
- Target Identifiers
Target identifiers show where the Up One Level link-targets and the Site Map link point. This allows the user to know where the link points before they click on the link. For Up One Level links, it tells the user which page the links points to and where on that page to find the target of the link.
For example, here is a copy of the Up One Level link from Game Window. The arrows to the right of the Up One Level link are the target identifier. They identify the target of the link.
Up One Level
—> "New Game" Window –> Four Buttons –> OK Button
The arrows reflect the hierarchical nature of the Up One Level link network structure.
- The Up One Level link points to "New Game" Window.
- It is an interior link to this page and it points into the section called Four Buttons.
- One of these button is the OK button. The phrase "game window", the name of the current page, appears in the description of the OK button.
- The Up One Level link points to the description of the OK button.
Before clicking on the link, the user knows that the Up One Level link points to the "New Game" Window and that the Game Window is referenced in the description of the OK button. Alternatively, if a user clicks on the link and wonders why it points where it does, they can use the browser page-back button and look at the target-id for a little help.
For a second example, here is a copy of the Up One Level link from Account Creation. The key feature illustrated by this example is the blue highlighting on the phrase "new account".
Up One Level
—> CGoban Main Window –> To connect to KGS for the first time –> new account
- The Up One Level link points to CGoban Main Window.
- It is an interior link to this page and it points into the section titled "To connect to KGS for the first time".
- The phrase new account appears in the section "To connect to KGS for the first time".
- The Up One Level link points to "To connect to KGS for the first time".
- The phrase "new account" is in blue in order to highlight its relevance to Account Creation.
The format of some up-one-level link target identifiers will be simplified before the completion of alpha test. English language descriptions will replaces the arrow notation in complex identifiers like the ones in the two examples given above.
- Browser Testing: The site map has been tested on the Firefox and Microsoft IE browsers.
- Implementation Note notes
- Alpha Test
- All admins, help-page-editors, and KGS users are invited to review the "first draft" of the site map. (Announcement posted in Wiki Room on Feb 27, 2011.)
- In the final stage of Alpha Test,
- Prototype Site Map links are activated. (This is actually the beginning of Beta Test Installation.) (This step was completed on March 3, 2011.)
- But, the Site Map links in Welcome to KGS, Introduction to KGS, and CGoban Main Window will be implemented in the final stage of the alpha test.
- These notes are updated as appropriate.
- In each help page, add target identifier for the Site Map and Up One Level links. (This step was completed March 8, 2011.) (Format simplification is required. Noted May 17, 2011).
- Site Map links are tested and refined. Expected time frame for this step is three (3) months.
- The format and content of this page is checked.
- These notes are put in a separate file, "siteMapNotes.html".
- The Site-Map-link-question and the Up-One-Level-link-question (in the Main FAQ) are pointed to the new file. "Alpha test" is replaced with "beta test".
- Automatch Change-Note in Future Plans is updated and linked to the Maintenance section of these notes.
- End of Alpha Test: December, 2012
- Beta Test
- Final Beta Test Installation
- The phrase "first draft" in the note at the very bottom of the site map is replaced with the phrase "beta test version". The preamble is deleted.
- Site Map links are inserted in CGoban Main Window and Welcome to KGS. They point to the positions of the pages themselves.
- Up One Level links is inserted in CGoban Main Window. It points to the top of the site map.
- The Index Box gets a link to (the top of) the site map.
- A Site Map and an Up One Level link are inserted in Introduction to KGS. They both point to Welcome to KGS (the site map position and the help page, respectively).
- Beta Test is intended to last 6-12 months, depending on how things go.
- Hopefully, at least one new page is added and at least one old page is removed before Beta Test is complete.
- When Beta Test is complete,
- The note at the bottom of the site map is deleted.
- These notes are updated.
- The Please Help section is deleted.
- The Test Plan section (this section) is deleted.
- End of Beta Test: Twelve months after end of Alpha Test
- The need for site-map maintenance after alpha and beta test is expected to be minimal.
- The basic structure of the current site layout is stable.
- Exception
The automatch pages* are an exception. They need to be reworked. When the rework is complete, the automatch links need to be reorganized. For example,
- The link to Automatch Overview in Playing Games* will need to be replaced with a link to Automatch.
- Same for the link in Play Go menu.*
- Automatch will need to be added to the Four Exceptions table in the notes to the Structure section of this document. Right before "New Game" Window is the logical place to add it.
- Site maintenance is expected to be easy for common tasks, such as adding new pages.
- The following tools should work together to help the user become familiar with the site structure. Ideally, they would be updated together so that their structure would remain reasonably compatible.
- Site-Map Maintenance Specifics It would be nice if . . .
- New Pages: Every new page would have an Up One Level link and a Site Map link at the bottom of the page.
- When a user clicks on a link, they whould receive immediate visual confirmation that the link has taken them where they want to go.
- For links in the site-map that point to the interior of a page, the name of the link in the site-map would be clearly visible. For example, it could match the title of a section header, or it could be displayed in bold.
- The site-map link name would be the same as the XHTML page title. (This does not apply to site-map links that point to the interior of a page.)
- Note: There are two page titles, the first is in the <h1> tabs, the second is in the in the XHTML code. The XHTML page title is an normally abbreviated version of the <h1> page title. It is the title that is displayed in the browser tabs in some browsers.
- Pages Marked for Delete: When a page is marked for delete, the links to that page in the the site map would be re-pointed or deleted.
- Index Box Changes: The links in the Index Box would appear in the same order as their highlighted version in the site map and if they would have the same name.
- Site Map Format: The alternating pattern of solid and open bullets for the layers of site map levels would be preserved.
- Links with an asterisk (*) point into the site map.
Is there somebody who can make screen shots? If you can and are willing, please help! Please capture the full window in the screen shot. If you want, you can use the sandbox listed below. If you feel like adding text, that would be great. There is text in the Main KGS Window that can be copied for the first two pages. The third page is "from scratch".
Hopefully, some day, help buttons on these windows will link to the help pages created from these screen shots.
- Other Windows that need Help buttons
Up One Level*
—> Site Map
Top
This is the third draft of the site map design notes.
Please send comments to DeaconJohn. His email address is in his info page.
Edit this page (requires admin or translator privilege)
