Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 08:09:32 -0600
Reply-To: Medical Webmaster Discussion Group
<MEDWEBMASTERS-L@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG>
Sender: Medical Webmaster Discussion Group <MEDWEBMASTERS-L@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG>
From: "Kim Solez, M.D." <Kim.Solez@ualberta.ca>
Subject: [MWM-L] New developments! Re: http://www.cyber-medicine.org -
Enhancing Health Uses of the Internet Across All Areas of Medicine
Comments: To: "Telehealth (Professional discussion forum for all aspects of
Telehealth)" <TELEHEALTH@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>,
MMATRIX-L@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG
Comments: cc: Judanne <judan@hotkey.net.au>,
Michele.Hales@UAlberta.CA, jm5@UAlberta.CA
To: MEDWEBMASTERS-L@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG
"NEPHROL, a service of NKF cyberNephrology" <nephrol@majordomo.srv.ualberta.ca>

I have been very pleased by the many suggestions we have received on http://www.cyber-medicine.org. I found the correspondence below about simplifying the language on the site to make it more broadly accessible very interesting. I wonder how many subscribers give attention to this "no greater than a 6th Grade level" consideration in the creation of their own sites. I suppose most government sites have already met this criterion. Others have suggested in response that 8th grade would be better and that we have to think of the audience we most intend to reach.

We have received many suggestions for additional sites to list on the How You Can Help page, which we will be adding tomorrow. On the http://www.kidneyatlas.org site we now have statistics that from the UK with a ADSL connection the PDF files download at an average of 125 kB/sec. (range 97-177) while the .ppt files average 89kB/sec. (range 49-161) and the difference is even more dramatic on the US east coast, so we will be moving to .ppt files to the server on which the PDF files reside probably within the next ten days.

Anyway, please keep the suggestions coming and we will have a greatly enhanced site by Monday afternoon!

All the best. - Kim

From: "Judanne" <judan@hotkey.net.au>
To: "Kim Solez, M.D." <Kim.Solez@ualberta.ca>
Subject: Re: language needs to be simplified Re:
http://www.cyber-medicine.org - Enhancing Health Uses of the
Internet Across All Areas of Medicine
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 17:28:59 +1000
X-Priority: 3
Status: O

Dr. Solez,

I used to work for an Australian Commonwealth Dept and it was made clear to us that all written communications with the public should be in no greater than a 6th Grade level of English. That's why I think you'll either lose or alienate some members of the public unless you make changes.

Judanne