dita-adoption message
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Subject: Re: [dita-adoption] Fwd: Re: [dita] Adoption Committee whitepapers
- From: "Michael Priestley" <mpriestl@ca.ibm.com>
- To: Bob Thomas <bob.thomas@tagsmiths.com>
- Date: Mon, 29 Feb 2016 10:46:34 -0500
Hi Bob,
I think shortdescs are normally rendered
in PDF, as well as HTML.
For what it's worth the design intent
for shortdescs at the time of their addition to the language was to implement
the "thesis sentence" principle of the STOP methodology, where
the first sentence of a topic provides its thesis/key point. This "thesis
sentence" is then also useful as a search result preview etc. but
its first and primary purpose is to be the first sentence of the topic.
Michael Priestley, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM)
Enterprise Content Technology Strategist
mpriestl@ca.ibm.com
http://dita.xml.org/blog/michael-priestley
From:
Bob Thomas <bob.thomas@tagsmiths.com>
To:
Nancy Harrison <nharrison@infobridge-solutions.com>
Cc:
Kristen James Eberlein
<kris@eberleinconsulting.com>, "dita-adoption@lists.oasis-open.org"
<dita-adoption@lists.oasis-open.org>
Date:
02/29/2016 10:24 AM
Subject:
Re: [dita-adoption]
Fwd: Re: [dita] Adoption Committee whitepapers
Sent by:
<dita-adoption@lists.oasis-open.org>
Evidently, I have misunderstood the purpose of shortdesc since
I first began using DITA 10 years ago. I apologize to the group for my
misunderstanding. Because of it, I have been adding confusion rather than
clarity.
Given that shortdesc shouldn't be in the PDF, then it
shouldn't be rendered as topic content in the HTML either because to do
so would result in the HTML and PDF topic content diverging in single source
scenarios. Instead, shortdesc should be used for out-of-flow purposes such
as link preview text. I assume that the same thing is also true for abstract.
Stating the out-of-flow intention unambiguously at the beginning of the
article would help others avoid the false conclusions I came to 10 years
ago.
I also agree with Nancy's comments.
Best Regards,
Bob Thomas
On Sun, Feb 28, 2016 at 11:59 PM, Nancy Harrison <nharrison@infobridge-solutions.com>
wrote:
Another comment on the shortdesc white paper (besides
agreeing with Kris that the shortdescs for the white paper topics shouldn't
be ending up in the PDF).
It seems to me that the organization of the paper is a bit counter-intuitive.
That is, I think the section describing how the content in shordescs ends
up being displayed in output ("How and When Shortdescs appear")
would be better appearing right near the beginning of the article, not
in the middle. I would think a users primary question about the element
is 'what on earth is it for?' So describing how/where people use
it should come right at the beginning, then it makes more sense to look
at the guidel;ines for how to construct it. To that effect, I'd also
name it differently, for example as "What do you use a Shortdesc for?"
Unless readers have a sense of what it's going to accomplish, and the usage
is what gives them that clue, the guidelines have no context.
And, one more thing, I don't understand Don's quote about
shortdescs and credit cards; if I don't get it, I'm guessing that many
other people won't either...
There's a lot of good information in the article, but
I do think it needs a bit more work.
Nancy
_____________
Nancy Harrison
Infobridge Solutions
nharrison@infobridge-solutions.com
On Sun, Feb 28, 2016 at 8:08 AM, Kristen James Eberlein
<kris@eberleinconsulting.com>
wrote:
Just to make sure that the Adoption TC saw this also.
Best,
Kris
Kristen James Eberlein
Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee
Principal consultant, Eberlein Consulting
www.eberleinconsulting.com
+1
919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)
-------- Forwarded Message --------
The PDF is ... a little bizarre.
The topics seems to have a shortdesc that was perhaps just intended to
be authoring notes? And intended to be filtered out? For example:
Good Short Descriptions = Better Search Engine Results for Online Documents
Demonstrates how short descriptions appear within search engine results,
and how they can enhance Search Engine
Optimization (SEO).
Short descriptions appear in search engine results. Well-written short
descriptions lets a search engine know that
the information it seeks is in your document. When a short description
is absent, by default the first sentence or two
appears in its place, which rarely summarizes what the content of a topic
is about.
Conclusion
Summing up why short descriptions are a good idea.
Though <shortdesc> is an optional element, when used effectively
it is a useful guide to readers and content creators
alike. When done well, short descriptions tell the reader why they might
want to read the content of a given topic, and
can help content creators decide which topic is appropriate for reuse.
I don't think this is ready for prime time.
Best,
Kris
Kristen James Eberlein
Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee
Principal consultant, Eberlein Consulting
www.eberleinconsulting.com
+1
919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)
On 12/21/2015 8:41 PM, Bob Thomas wrote:
Hi,
The shortdesc whitepaper is out for second draft review.
This first draft went out before the Adoption Committee began using the
current review process. For many of you, this will be the first that you
have heard about the shortdesc whitepaper. Therefore, I have attached it,
and I invite you to review it.
A whitepaper describing help features is in the works.
Tony self and Stan Doherty are doing a subject matter expert reading of
it. Once they are done, the whitepaper will go out for first draft review.
Best Regards,
--
Bob Thomas
+1
720 201 8260
Skype: bob.thomas.colorado
Instant messaging: Gmail chat (bob.thomas@tagsmiths.com)
or Skype
Time zone: Mountain (GMT-7)
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