Best of Chi-Web

The chi-web and sig-ia mailing lists are two email based discussion groups on the topics of web usability, ui design and information architecture.

Below is a compilation of summary postings from these mailing lists. The archives themselves are public and not maintained by me: I’ve merely made accessing them easier. (Chi-web archive, sig-ia archive).

Last updated: April 16th, 2005

Posted CHIWEB summaries in roughly chronological order (April 1996 – Mar 2003)

Web UI Prototyping
Web glossaries
Bad websites for u-testing

Windows UI design refs
World/regional divisions
Email acronyms
Internet usage stats
Browser support flowcharts
Good design firms
Web app workshop
Reading levels for web
Survey tool kits
Books on marketing
Spec writing
Personas
Good form design
Storyboarding
Designers vs. IA
HCI history
Smart registration
Breaking into IA
Usability in the org chart
Type display usability
Save vs. Submit
Ethnographic methods
Banner ad usability
Color for the web
Personalization vs Customization
Bad sites by big companies
Controlling bandwith during tests
Project management
Financial table layout
Web forms for postal address
Junkies (managing time)
Click vs. hover menu activation
e-Bank website usability
Using scenarios in HCI
Submit and Reset buttons
Anti splash screens
Review of Tufte courses
Emailverification
E-business shipping
Designing forums
Web app help system
Rapid Prototyping
Disabled buttons
Keyboard shortcuts
Portable usability labs
Scrolling home pages
Dynamic vs. fixed page size
Font/background readability
Usability standards orgs
Toolbars and modes
Treeview hierarchy
Flash hall of shame
Auto-tab on web forms
Designing for VoiceXML
Design for children
Making highlight tapes
File Uploading usability
Font Usability
Search Relevancy Ranking

Jan 2002 – Mar 2003

Usability Metrics
Concerns with Likert Scales
HCI program reputations
Usability vs. Design orgs
Intranetpublishing and usability
Hotel availability UI
Distance learning HCI programs
Tools for writing specs
Using italicsas design element
Diagraming software for Mac
How do you study usability of charts?
Emotion and design
Web development process
Screen Resolutions
Work experience vs. graduate degree
Representing time and date in web form
Chat vs. non-virtual for data collection
Learnability as Usability
How long for page downloads
Usability in Computer Games
Good examples of software UI design
Edit/Change/Update/Modify
The future of interface
More on usability & games
Children’s websites
How long before users leave?
Mapping tools summary
Distance HCI degree
Edit/Change/Update
The future of web interfaces
Usability issues and games
Country selectors
Number of usability engineers
Use of DHTML scrolling widgets
Intranet UI standards
Life sized archetypes
Checkout page sequences
Project postmortems
Testing in Japan
Tree based navigation menus
Usability resumes
Research on breadcrumbs
Web application development
COPPA and parental consent
Users forgetting email address
User attitudes about privacy
Minimum hit areas for accessibility
Windows vs. Web apps
Distance usability labs
Multiple browser windows
Usability of instructions
Learning right click
Measuring user satisfaction
Add to cart behavior
Best single UI website
Usability recruiting agencies
Task notifications
Windows style guide questions
HFI certification
Role of Web co-ordinators
Equipment for a usability lab
Flexible usability processes
Design guidelines for wiki
Form ui optimization
Home page for desktop apps
Flash app resources
Text label location/alignment
Master’s degree programs
“Why are u here?” prompts
Web application home pages
Required field ui
dropdowns: Editable or not
Benefits of plain language
UI Design process opinions
Storyboarding Tools & tips
Using online surveys
Seamless interfaces
GUI vs. TUI
Home pages that cycle content

March 2003 to May 2004

Information seeking for scientists
UI Design training recommendations
Virtual keyboard case sensitivity
Time input and validation
Close window location
Links in e-newsletters
Posting version numbers
Pro sites that do user testing
Secondary mouse click on web
Selecting from long list of names
Top 5 accessibility guidelines
Interaction design style guide
Flash demos and pop up windows
How many participants for studies?
Labeling in multi-lingual countries
Accessibility testing tools
Encouraging people to log on
Common road blocks
Common study scripting
Long forms
User manuals for websites
Icons vs. Text
Business cases for user testing
Interface gymnastics / VR UI
Forcing line breaks on web pages
Promoting early phase usability
Human side of searching
Teaching interactivity
Command line usability
Enter key behavior in input fields
Online community group software
Making pages print friendly
White house email usability
Offshore usability
Process + tools + guidelines
Building in house usability lab
Icon granularity
Remote card sort testing
Multilevel tab navigation
Corporate investment in UCD
Visibility of table data
Display of large data sets
Card sort order effects
Combined Navigation
Screen capture and ClearType
Flash menus and printing
Design process tools
Self help usability
Multi address checkout
Compensation rates
SCRUM methodology
Removing browser navigation
Taxonomy Overview
Google on intranets
Avoiding expired page messages
File naming for unix servers
Good examples of corporate websites
Usability vs. EPSS
Bad examples
Keyboard shortcuts for web
CSS for printing
Color contrast algorithm
Web app standards
Vertical tab navigation
Inspection of accessibility
Six Sigma usability IA / design tools
Ad-hoc reporting ui
Archiving
Star rating system
Fold out menus
Usability politics
Use of tree navigation
Are frames evil
Virtual keyboard usability
Usability icebreakers
Optmost critique
auto-login design
Scrolling list and their size
Combining studies for requirements
Button order for blind users
Welcoming users by name
Low cost screen recording
Touch screens with tabs
Color standards for GUIs
Use of email programs
NIST Usability report format
Questionaire design
Web literacy levels
Web vs. software email clients
Sidebars in Web applications
Overloading links
Sound Design
Portal Design
UI Specs & Accessibility
Cursor proximity
Web Accessibility Evaluation
Usability in HTML mail
Customizing home pages
Signatures in WebForms
Desktop to WebApp
Windows prototyping

May 2004 to April 2005

Visual Pathing
Corporate style guides
Mailing list subscription
Voice response
Literature on groupware
How to make surveys
PDF usability & accesibility
First usability study advice
Issues for college websites
HCI for immersive design
Online manual design
Use site logs for design
Colors schemes for low light
Opening new windows
Topic vs. task navigation
Online survey length
Glyphs and links
Kids and the web
Website translation
Important principles
Studying terminology
Pull-downs and all
Classification and mind
Graphic buttons
Canned vs. personalized
Cognitive walkthroughs

Posted SIGIA-L summaries in roughly chronological order (Feb 2001 – Jun 2002)

Conference websites
Recruiting summary
Measuring the value of IA
Cost justifying usability
IA recruiters
Creative FAQ pages
American disability act / 508
More on American disability act / 508
Navigation resources
Intranet usability
Cool site maps
Dynamic pages and search engines
Usability firms
IA course information
Required reading for IA
Cool Site map examples
Auto classification tools
Quick usability exercises /methods
Sending users from brand to shopping
What is JAD?
Model sites fordynamic content
Survey research
Viso equiv for the mac
Learning from game design
Password hint summary
Reading group suggestions
Advisor examples
Content Inventory
Cost benefit for IA
VCR like screen capture
IA mailing lists
User application preferences
Usability Comics
Library of Congress
HTML Email usability
Activity Theory and IS design
Wireframe Summary
IA Skills list

Favorite posts / threads (pseudo best of best of):

Norman on affordances
Marketing vs. Usability
The gap from user requirements to design
Arguing against bias
What is IA
Information Architecture and ancient design
The contradictions of Design and the myth of perfection
Semantics vs. display
Ease of learning vs. ease of use