Ideal Page Size

What is the IdealPageSize for a WikiPage? I say it shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 screens on an 800x600 screen or more than 1 1/2 pages on a 1024x768 screen. (Yes, I know they are not the same.)

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I have yet to reach any practical limit on how many browser windows I can open. I tend to read the web by finding a page I'm interested in, RightClick?ing (which opens the linked page in a new window) on every link that looks interesting, putting the new windows to the back, and then recursing. This gives extremely rapid access to almost everything relevant and lets the system download while I read.

Pages longer than two screens are a pain. I either download and save them for reading on the train, or ignore everything after the first screen, depending on the first few seconds.

Just my ha'p'th.

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The page size should be what is required to cover the topic adequately. I would hate to see people go in and pad out pages to get up to the 2 page minimum. No one suggested a minimum. "Shouldn't be more" is what it says at the top of the page.

Others might claim that a topic should be split into multiple pages if it requires more than 2 screens or so.

Some people claim that LinksDestroyFlow, although some suggest that LinksCreateFlow and LinksAreContent. As with so many things, a balance must be achieved.

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It was while browsing Wiki that I really appreciated tabbed browsing (Opera, Konqueror, Galeon, and some support in Mozilla). I view the Changes page and middle-click on 20-50 links. They open in the background in new tabs (easier to manage than new windows) and load while I continue to view the Changes page. It's quite handy on news/blog pages too.

-- AmitPatel

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In my refactoring, my rules of thumb have been:

• Maximize your browser window. If the page is longer than ten screens, it needs to be refactored.
• If, in refactoring, you run across or create (through regrouping) a subsection that's longer than one screen, either Extract or Distill that subsection.
• You are finished when the page is five screens or less.

Of course, these rules are sort of refactoring triage: Most of my patients are pages badly need of any attention at all. Five screens may in fact still be too much, but most of my refactoring work has been very coarsely grained work indeed. -- francis

I think if you follow the software practice of refactoring and only pay attention to content, the size issues take care of themselves. Remove the redundancy and chit chat. Separate out different topics. When you are done, the pages will be at the right size with no need to impose artificial constraints. -- WayneMack

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CategoryWikiEditing