[wp-hackers] Re: Blogroll, Bookmarks, Links?

[Stephen Rider]

Lads and Ladies --

Not sure how much my cute little opinion rates on this list -- but  
I'm with Otto all the way on this one.  I previously made a  
(sarcastic) proposal for changing "Posts" to "Words" because not  
everyone knows what a "post" is, but everyone knows what "words" are.

All snark aside, the point is there.  Yes, these things we're talking  
about _are_ links, just as Posts _are_ just bunches of words.  But  
"words" isn't specific enough -- a post is more than just words.   
"Links" isn't specific enough -- these things are more than a simple  
<A> tag.

"Bookmarks" is a word that in the context of the web has taken on two  
distinct, but related, meanings.  There are the "favorites" you set  
in your web browser, and there are the Digg-like "social" bookmarks  
that you find on web sites.  I think that most users will recognize  
the distinction that when working in the Options for their web site,  
they're talking about "bookmarks" on their web site, not on their  
browser's menu.  (That SOME people will get confused goes without  
saying, no matter what you do.)

We can argue semantics for ages (I say "links" are what hold my shirt  
cuffs together -- Aha!)... but ultimately it comes down to  
usefulness, not what we can find in a dictionary.  Links is a _very_  
broad term -- so broad in this case that they entirely fail to  
suggest the full potential capabilities of WordPress bookmarks.  A  
Post is more than just Words; and these are more than mere Links.

Short of coming up with some _entirely new_ never-before-heard word  
(on the basis that these aren't _precisely_ something covered by any  
pre-existing word) bookmarks is a tighter and more succinct term than  
the overly generic "links", without straying into the overly  
restrictive realm of terms like "blogroll".

Sincerely,

Stephen Rider


On Jun 26, 2007, at 11:55 AM, Otto wrote:

> On 6/26/07, Leonid Mamchenkov <leonid at mamchenkov.net> wrote:
>> The issue with Web 2.0 in general and social bookmarks in particular
>> is that things are called names just for the sake of being called
>> names.  Normal people (those that don't work in IT industry) have  
>> hard
>> times keeping up with all the terminology.  And I think it makes  
>> sense
>> to make it easier on them, whether the application/service is a
>> flagmen or not.
>
> So, do you call everything you sit on a "chair", even if it's a couch?
> Or a bed? Or the floor?
>
> Names distinguish different types of things from each other. It could
> be easier to call everything "Bob". That way, you always know what
> everything is: it's "Bob".
>
>> Links is what those people know.  They send each other links in the
>> email.  They share interesting links.  They follow links on the web.
>> They sell and buy links.  They rate links. They arrange links on  
>> their
>> web site.
>
> Exactly my point. These are more than links. They have enough (or, at
> least I certainly want them to have enough) distinguishing
> characteristics to make them different than a mere URL which they send
> around.
>
> And while you and others may think that the name is the least part of
> a thing, I disagree. Names do indeed matter. Words matter. Words
> define how people think of things, how they conceive of them. Calling
> them "Links" reduces them to something that people think they already
> know. However, people don't already know this. This is something they
> need to learn, it's something new, it's not the same old thing that
> they have stuck in their mind as "links" and so yes, it needs a
> different name.
>
>> Even the most in-accurate benchmark of all - the Google number of
>> search results - suggests that Links it should be.
>>
>> links: 1,750,000,000 results
>> bookmarks: 134,000,000 results
>
> Actually, this backs up my point, not yours. People already know what
> a link is. And these are not links, therefore giving them that name
> doesn't make any sense.
>
>> P.S.: Social bookmarks are just the links that people share. And
>> organize. Together.
>
> Correct. Which is what I want Wordpress bookmarks to be too. What part
> of this is not getting through?
>
>> P.P.S.: Think of non-native English speakers too.  To make it easier
>> on you, which word looks better for you - ссылка or  
>> закладка? ;)
>
> Doesn't make any difference to me, I'll leave the translation up to
> the translators.
>
>> P.P.P.S.: This is the last message from me in this thread.  Respond
>> personally if you feel like continuing the conversation.
>
> Sorry, but I feel that this is important enough to share with the
> list, and I'll continue to keep it in the view of the list. Don't
> respond if you don't want to do so.
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