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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: June 27, 2002 Writing “Basic” with a Global Reach -- "About those flags, animated and otherwise … ditch ‘em. If you offer your site in multiple translations, use the correct name of the language instead of the country’s flag for identification. Which flag would you use for English (you can choose from USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Singapore)? And which of four languages would you be indicating by using the Swiss flag?"
Reader Comments...
Even among English speaking nations, there's ample scope for confusion. Take, for example, the article about basketball shoes which John included yesterday. I didn't have a clue what the first 2 or 3 paragraphs were trying to say. I had to go back and think about it. I recognised all the words individually, but the combination left me scratching my head. Britain and the USA - 2 nations separated by a common language... Posted by: Alan Fisher on June 28, 2002 04:22 AM
As another UK english user I have two main niggles with US english sites and their (understandable, but annoying) Stars and Stripes view of the english speaking web audience. 1 : When sites link to books on Amazon, why can't they provide links to the same book on Amazon sites other than .com, it is easy to generate links to all of the Amazon sites. 2 : Times, it would be really nice to see the time of posts etc. in my 'local' time as well as the 'server' time. (As I view this site regularly I have made the effort to write a program that presents me with posts in my own 'time-line.) Thinking about users in other countries involves a lot more than dealing with foreign languages. Posted by: Mac on June 28, 2002 05:04 AM
But Mac, just think of all those Americans who will be impressed that you were at your desk at 5:04 a.m. "Sleep is for wimps"... Posted by: Alan Fisher on June 28, 2002 06:18 AM
"Early to bed, early to rise" I was actually at my desk at 3am, but I will be going to bed at about 6.30pm Ooooh its nearly time for my breakfast Posted by: Mac on June 28, 2002 06:46 AM
Since the author mentions Singapore, there are a host of other countries for whom English is the primary web langauge - India (where this is from), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia... Posted by: Nagarjun on June 28, 2002 08:48 AM
Whoa! Another Indian reader of Webword. Waitaminnit, I know Nagarjun. How are ya', buddy? Posted by: MadMan on June 28, 2002 03:56 PM
Personally I thin flags a very user friendly way to switch versions of a site. Ignoring the political implications of which flag to choose, I find them eye-catching. Posted by: oldie on July 2, 2002 11:04 AM
Views and Feelings: Flags are not Languages
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