I've gotten in the habit of passing out this address - http://www.djwudi.com/longletter/archives/2002/08/30/things_to_remember_while_emailing.php - to people who send me this stuff. It seems to cut down on some of the crap I'm sent.

Posted by: Michael Hanscom on February 27, 2003 02:28 AM

---

 

Better advice is to never send chain letters. I don't care who they're from, I treat chain letters the same way I treat spam. Except when I receive a chain letter, I sometimes reply to the person who sent it to me telling them that if I wanted to read what they sent, I would have found it myself. Then I point them to Anil's classic article, Pardon Me For Being Forward.

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on February 27, 2003 09:20 AM

---

 

Glurge

Posted by: Matt Round on February 27, 2003 10:43 AM

---

 

OK, I'll be the first to respond to the actual question.

The icons are ridiculous. They slow my skimming of the link names, increase the download time and do nothing for me in terms of my experience or feelings about the site. No wait, they do affect me -- they annoy me. I would not trust SNOPES as an authoritative source when it looks so childish.

Also, the black nav bar needs hover effects. Whooo, hover.

Posted by: George Wringle on February 27, 2003 11:41 AM

---

 

My favorite part of "Pardon me for being forward" is this line:

My answer to your questionnaire is: No. My favorite color is: No. My favorite song is: No.

Posted by: Lydia on February 27, 2003 05:53 PM

---

 

Oh, and regarding Snopes: I have always hated their navigation. Most people who swear by the site (as I do) have chuckled over their poor design for years. That doesn't change the fact that it is an excellent collection of information.

I trust Snopes because they established their online reputation when their site design was still considered fairly modern, or at least not as jarring as it is today, and because I appreciate the content even if the delivery is a little off. I'm not about to complain about a free reference site, especially when it is put together by only a few people (or maybe just the site owner).

I wonder if there is any way to prove that the same people who forward things by e-mail are also the same people who just don't get that the best way to prevent viruses is not to open attachments? (They must be the ones constantly forwarding virus alerts!)

Posted by: Lydia on February 27, 2003 06:05 PM

---

 

Actually, Snopes is rather authoritative, cheesy look aside.

Posted by: Adam on February 27, 2003 09:21 PM

---

 

I did not say SNOPES is unauthoritative. I said, "I would not trust SNOPES as an authoritative source when it looks so childish." In simple English that means, "To be taken seriously, it's important to look serious."

When people send me SNOPES-worthy spam, I tell them to first verify the claim via an authoritative web site (and then simply send people the link). I'm afraid average people would look at SNOPES and wonder what floofy soccer mom had created it.

Posted by: George Wringle on February 27, 2003 09:50 PM

---

 

What I hate about Snopes is the frames. The information is valuable, but it takes extra work to get the link to the target frame info so you can send it to anyone.

Posted by: Frank on February 27, 2003 11:46 PM

---

 

That's a good point, Frank. It's particularly bothersome because the frame really isn't necessary, at least from the user standpoint. It reminds me of situations where something is done because it was too hard to do the better, more usable, alternative.

Posted by: Lydia on February 28, 2003 02:50 PM

---

 

I rely on Snopes all the time when friends and relatives forward junk e-mail. Sure, the icons are silly, but the content is valuable enough that the "cartoony" appearance is irrelevant. What matters is the search engine--right there on the home page, and it works very well.

The other major reference site I use for hoaxes, UrbanLegends.com, is far less usable because the only visible navigation is a dropdown list of predefined topics. There ARE some search options at the bottom of the page, but they're confusing--who cares if I want to search the Archive, the AFU, or (bizarrely) the AFU FAQ? Nielsen has already covered this topic, people; advanced and multiple search options serve only to confuse, not improve.

When I see a suspicious message and want to cite an authority in my debunking reply, I always turn to Snopes first.

Posted by: Brian on March 3, 2003 08:40 AM

---