Kid Friendly Sites (was: Attention Rail Freight operators)

[James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au>]

PETer and susAN wrote:

> An example of what is __NOT a kid friendly train web page__ is one that is full of great train
> related pictures that entertain rail fans such as us and has text such as ; "Comeng Alco CO-CO 8025
> drifts down the grade towards Picton with the UP 4MS3 Toll express"  Rail fans can decode it but 10
> year olds would just roll their eyes and give up. A similar non kid friendly caption is; "8125 was
> light attached to train 3124's GM Bulldog scheduled motive power for the trip to Cooks River."  Even
> the expresion "motive Power" needs to be avoided; it is well understood by us but not really by
> people outside the rail world.   [I just made up the above text examples.]

    Most web sites (like mine :-) ) are designed for railfans and "dumbing" them down just so a 10 year
old can understand it isn't going to achieve much. I agree, there should be web sites or sections on
professional sites designed for kids, but we shouldn't make every web site "kid friendly", as this ruins
the site for railfans. "N461 between Glenbervie and Essendon with an up Albury pass, 29/11/98" is a
typical description of a photo on my site. I think that this description is sufficient for both railfans
and non-railfans. If a railfan wants a more detailed description than this then all they have to do is
e-mail me. There is nothing wrong with using words like down, up, motive power, Alco, GM, Bulldog,
etc... I haven't included train numbers because I don't know them in most cases. Why should a railfan
site avoid these words and train numbers? Most people can still get the basic idea of what the caption
is trying to say even if they don't know what "up" or "9125" means.

> All spelling and grammar would need to be perfect although the rare typo might be tolerated. If I
> ever let a typo slip through in my worksheets, some parent or kid finds it and I hear about it for
> ever! Same happens if I leave out a punctuation mark such as a full stop or don't use a capital
> letter where it should be used. It is my job to spot my pupils' spelling / grammar errors, not make
> any of the errors myself!  Besides, correct typing increases the professional standard.

    I always proofread what I write before I upload it. Only a few mistakes get through and these are
quickly corrected. I think all sites should make sure that they use correct english. I have seen some
really terrible and obvious errors on some pages.

>  I am hoping some freight operator's public relations staff spots this thread and takes over.
>
> So far National Rail's site is winning; if only some one would add some kid friendly text to those
> very useful pictures of the containers as well as the container handling devices such as the trucks
> and cranes. The site also is great as it shows the human side; it shows the operators.

    The quality of the photos on the National Rail site is terrible. If I can provide clear and sharp
images then why can't National Rail?



I'm voting yes for the republic! :-)

--
- James Brook -

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