Right-click 
to bookmark or copy URL.
The links are checked frequently, details.
© 2002-2007 Andilinks |
|
|
For additional visual organization see: Site Map
|
Introduction, skip to the next section for navigation conventions.
The ideal use of Andilinks is as a web-based bookmark file--categories can be bookmarked for your own favorites file. Instead of creating a category of links in your bookmark/favorites file, simply right-click
on the button and bookmark its location. That, and not the casual search, is the best use of Andilinks.
The simplest way to learn how to use Andilinks as a resource is to pay close attention to the organization of the JavaScript
menus which appear on every page just below the logo. The Site Map mirrors the menu's format
and adds tool tip pop-ups with categories listed for each page. The Categories A-Z page is very good for looking up subjects or for browsing.
The Women's wear categories have their own Women's Wear A-Z page. The Pop Music pages have their own menu in the left hand column of every page (except the Home Page).
When Andilinks is finally good enough this explanation will be unnecessary, everything you need to know about using the site will be
obvious at a glance. We aren't quite there yet. 
The one-time user will find Google much more efficient than Andilinks for quickly finding popular sites and easy
answers. In no way is Andilinks trying to compete with Google on what they do best.
I am acutely aware of both the strengths and limitations of Search Engines and Directories.
Google and other engines have their place and are best for most searches.
But if you are investigating a category in depth, or need an exhaustive list of a specific kind of site you will find
Andilinks valuable. Other modes of research and browsing fit well with the Andilinks' format too.
After spending more than three years compiling this collection of links I can attest that there is no one universal search tool.
An array of methods and tools is the best approach when going beyond the "quick answer."
Andilinks is one tool, and a useful one for certain kinds of 'net navigation.
This is a tiny, specialized niche which I intend to fill well--Andilinks will always be a "work in progress"
always expanding, refining and improving.
Each Andilinks category is compiled cumulatively over time with several search engines, directories and
link sites and presents a more complete array on a single screen with minimal scrolling.
A brief explanation is given with some links and its categorization provides the most information about it.
In general I prefer to link to the main or home page of a site or product rather than "deep linking," particularly when the Home Page is provided with good navigation tools.
Many also have an associated detailed page with descriptions listed from each site itself. The navigation system, is due for an overhaul though leaving each category as a two-step link with a page for compact lists and a detail page is also a possibility.
I try to keep the format and presentation consistent and reliable throughout all the categories.
Since the beginning I have been developing the site and database as an integrated content management system but only recently
has it begun to coalesce well. The system will remain proprietary and I have no plans to use or license it anywhere but on this site.
I don't claim to be without bias, nor am I an expert in all the fields covered, but I am without commercial affiliation and evaluate sites with a healthy skepticism.
I sometimes include newer sites that are weak or naive, hoping for improvement.
But I reject those appearing outdated, cluttered with too many ads, or trivial. Revision and review are a constant and
ongoing task, I appreciate being notified of out-dated or inappropriate content. Occasionally I will
include a link that is slightly off-category but of likely interest to someone browsing similar links.
I certainly recognize that one person cannot authoritatively cover all these categories, some categories are more complete than others. Where there are just a few links representing
a large category I try to include among them the best reference links or directories using (example) this font color and style.
Navigating Conventions
Special information about each page is given in the section immediately below the menu.
Here there are often links and suggestions for related Andilinks pages. Many of the individual categories are also provided with
links to related categories. I plan to expand this cross-referencing feature.
Font Style Conventions.
This font color and style indicates links to individual Andilinks categories and to favored external links.
In order for an external link to be shown in this style it must be a product or service that I personally have used with satisfaction,
but is not an endorsement--see Disclaimer.
This font color and style indicates a link to another Andilinks PAGE.
This font color and style indicates a specialized Directory, Search Engine or Link Site.
Category Placement, Taxonomy.
The Categories are ideally arranged in an intuitive and logical progression, which is occasionally revised.
Also, the site is continually growing so when categories are moved to a new page they are replaced briefly on the page with a gray panel titled "Recent Changes" and a
referral link. I do not split, consolidate, move or rename categories often or without an explanation and a referral link. But if you've been away for a while and
a category seems to have "gone missing," the best places to look for it are the Categories A-Z page or the
Table of Contents / Site Map. Using the Google search box provided on each page to search just this site is also a good option.
1) As mentioned above, the drop-down menus are convenient and available on every page. To open a page in a new window from the menu Shift+click in IE, right-click in Moz/Firebird/Opera.
2) The Table of Contents shows the page links arranged similar to the light blue menu which is on every page.
3) Categories A-Z lists all the categories alphabetically--linked and anchored.
Detailed pages with descriptions are shown in BOLD, while the compact link lists are shown in regular font with link counts in parentheses.
Categories sometimes appear on more than one page, but are linked on the A-Z page only to the primary occurrance.
4) You may use Google to search the Andilinks site.
There is a Google search box on nearly every page that offers the option to search just andilinks.com.
The Home Page - Portal is the fastest loading page and is the best starting point to enter Andilinks if you don't have another favorite page.
5) The   buttons in each category with more than 15-20 links may be used to toggle between links in a column or rows.
6) Each category and each page has a button which may be right-clicked to bookmark or copy the
exact location of that category. This may be used to return to that spot or to include the link in an email, blog, or whatever.
Foreign Language sites: I have found a number of good sites that I have marked Deutsch, en español, en français, etc.
I use the Google Toolbar which can provide an almost instant translation (under "Page Info,"
only French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). It is usually fractured or humorous, but is definitely readable.
Babelfish is a translation engine from Alta Vista that also offers Russian,
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, but you will need those character sets enabled.
Browser and Accessibility Issues
The tiny minority of people using non-JavaScript browsers or who have JavaScript disabled and cannot see the drop-down
menus should use the Table of Contents or
Categories A-Z pages for navigation.
There are text links to those pages on every page.
This site is visually optimized for use with Internet Explorer because in the past eight months IE was used by 82% of all the visitors. But the site works perfectly and renders almost perfectly in recent versions of Netscape-Moz-Firefox, Opera, and Safari browsers.
The aesthetic balance of the logo - navigation cluster is slightly flawed in the minority browsers.
Fonts and line-breaks vary in Opera but no serious problem there either.
The arrow graphics ( ) in the menus
do not appear with the Opera browser. In spite of this I like the Opera rendering better than
IE's in some ways. I've tried to strike a compromise given the usage.
There is a conflict between being "W3 correct"
which looks good for Netscape/Moz/Opera, and caving-in to Microsoft arrogance which looks better to the 82% majority. I chose the latter and
optimize appearance for IE's quirks, but spend considerable time working on W3 validation and being sure that the site
is operable in all browsers, if not as pretty as in IE.
Invalid code is often used in URL's by large companies
like Corel and Microsoft which makes re-validating an often changing page of links impractical, especially since browsers handle this invalid URL code fine.
The pages are optimized for a screen-size of 800 x 600 but are very readable and look good on larger screens.
I create and view the pages at 1280 x 1024 but regularly switch to 800 x 600 to test.
Those using a screen size smaller than 800 x 600 will have to scroll side-to-side, as they have become accustomed.
The font sizes are fixed with style-sheets. Those who routinely need to enlarge the font-size are probably already aware that
they should not use the Internet Explorer browser because the Moz/FireFox and Opera browsers have easy-to-use font enlarging features.
If you are stuck using IE and need a larger font go to the IE "Tools" menu, then "Options..." then click "Accessibility" at the
bottom, then check the "Ignore Font Sizes" option.
|
|
 Top
|
| |
