[Sigia-l] Rant about bad IA practice.

[Marianne]

Good Morning All,

I am hopeful that Christina's message below is meant entirely in jest as the
Monty Python quote would suggest. It would cause me great dismay to think
that that she is implying that alternative philosophies and opinions are not
encouraged on the SIGIA list. I've always believed this to be a community of
open discourse and not oligarchy where thoughts and methods are prescribed
by the few. 

I subscribe to the digest and have seen much agreement with Stewart's
original mail, appropriately entitled "rant." Many of us share his views on
eye-tracking and card sorting as optimal tools for an IA. I believe that
while they may have a purpose for some or in some instances, they are far
from being necessities in any IA evaluation or practice. Again, I reiterate
that this is in my opinion. 

IA is changing and it should. The medium, the message, and the user base are
changing. What worked before may likely not be as effective later. Can we as
a professional community of practice accept that theory or not and please do
so without capricious dismissal and name-calling? I keep hoping so.

Marianne
---------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 10:49:57 -0700
From: Christina Wodtke <cwodtke at eleganthack.com>
Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Rant about bad IA practice.
To: sigia-l at asis.org
Message-ID: <45439845.8080204 at eleganthack.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed


>
> >There are a few things I want to get off my chest.  Now I may be wrong
about these but I obvously think I'm not. >Here's a list. 
>   
Is this based on anything, except your own navelgazing? Have you done card
sorting, or eyetracking? Did you consider maybe you just don't know what you
are talking about, and maybe you should ask practitioners *why* they value
these things rather than rant about it?

And listmembers: you are feeding the troll.

The French said it best: "I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty
headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your
mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"

http://www.tv.com/monty-pythons-flying-circus/monty-python-and-the-holy-grai
l/episode/192612/trivia.html#quotes