Terminology: the directory

[rho]

More musing about terminology and nomenclature, this time: the directory.

I think the directory is a silly name, and a quick straw-poll of IRC agreed with me. Not quite sure what we should rename it to though. Ideas mooted on IRC were:

search
advanced search
user search
advanced user search
journal search
advanced journal search

Any thought and preferences or better ideas?

Comments

[moonie]

I vote for advanced search. Although, hm. As it is right now, the directory search link in the menu links to the journal search and that page links to the community search. Perhaps those two pages could be combined? That would get rid of an extra click (and improve accessibility?) and 'advanced search' would fit even better, imo.

[ephemera]

this

although advanced journal search might be a smidge more informative (you're not searching all dreamwidth content, say)

[katieastrophe]

Whilst I agree that "Advanced $foo Search" would be more informative, it is rather a mouthful, so I'm going to agree with Advanced Search.

[fae]

I like the advanced FOO things as it's a step up from just a regular search by, say, interests.

Advanced search by itself makes me think "Advanced search of what?" if I was to see the link without context. So my votes for Advanced User/Journal search, I'd lean towards the journal rather than user, since it counts for comms too, right?

So yeah. I think Advanced Journal Search would be more appropriate, even if it is a bit of a mouthful.

[sophie]

I personally like 'advanced user search'; the trouble with 'advanced journal search' is that it implies that you're searching within the journal, which you're not.

[snakeling]

Advanced search seems the best description to me, and not too much of a mouthful.

[ivorygates]

Yes, but how advanced *are* the users? Inquiring minds want to know.

[mark]

I honestly think Directory is fine. I'd even ponder something like Yellow Pages which is exactly what it is - find someone!

It is okay to use metaphors if they're well understood. A directory is something you use to find things. Sure, pedantically you can say a directory is just a list. But that's right now in 2009, maybe in 2020 we're going to have directories on walls that you can talk to and scroll and search!

(Or maybe the neural mapping software will be done by then.)

[ivorygates]

Pixel Pages, obviously.

[denise]

This. I like 'directory' because, let's face it, the damn thing is insanely limited, and right now can only look up very basic, directory-type things.

If/when we build the Search of Awesomeness, we can call that something else.

[ivorygates]

but um, isn't (whatever)search that which you do to That Which Currently Cannot Be Named? Which is (I'm taking a wild guess here) the list of all journals, users, and comms on DW? I mean, call it the Rolodex of Adrian Messenger if you like, it's a compendium of information, not a search, isn't it?

Or have I been up too long?

[sophie]

Well, you're searching that list by certain criteria.

[ivorygates]

Yeahbut... the search is still what you're *doing* to the *thing* isn't it? Even if the search permits, say, Boolean architecture.