This week’s homework builds on last week’s homework and sets you up for success on next week’s homework, so it’s important to follow these directions carefully to keep everything linked together.
Last week, you wrote a memo that included a sitemap illustration and discussion of the sitemap for a contemporary website that also has a pre-2005, historical version saved in the Internet Wayback Machine.
This week, you will write a similar memo for the earliest version of your selected website that you can view on the Internet Wayback Machine. Your memo should include an introduction that clearly states the date of the archived version of the website and how you are able to view it. Like last week’s memo, it should include an illustration of the website’s sitemap and a discussion of the site’s organization structure. Your memo should only focus on what you observe about the historical version of the website. Avoid comparing it to the contemporary version (we’ll do that in next week’s homework).
As a reminder, create the historical sitemap on a clean sheet of white copy paper on which you draw a sitemap (see this Wikipedia entry and this Adobe XD Ideas entry for support) based on what you see on your selected website’s homepage on the earliest, archived version in the Internet Wayback Machine. Remember to focus on the links on the homepage that lead to other pages on the same site. You do not have to document links leading to unaffiliated external sites (e.g., social media sites). Take a clean photo of your drawn site map (crop out anything that isn’t the paper and avoid casting a shadow over your illustration). Upload your image to imgbb.com as you did in last week’s homework to generate an embeddable URL to your photo. Alternatively, you may use software to draw your selected website’s site map, but this is not required. What you may not do is rely on a website that autogenerates the sitemap for you.
Third, write a memo as shown below in which you state the website that you selected, it archive date and how you are accessing it, embed your site map, and describe how the website is organized in your own words. Your memo should be between 250-500 words depending on how much explanation you need to describe the site’s site map based on its homepage.
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for [YOURDOMAIN.COM]
INTRODUCTION
One or two sentence introduction to your memo, its purpose, what it contains, etc. Remember to include the date for the archived version of the website and how you are accessing it.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [YOURDOMAIN.COM]
Embed your photo of your site map illustration here. Go to imgbb.com, click "Start Uploading," select your photo, set a time for it to be deleted (leave it up for at least 2 weeks), and copy the URL generated at the bottom of the "Upload Complete" screen (it will look like https://ibb.com/letters). Return to the comment box on OpenLab, click the icon that looks like a photo, paste the URL to your image, click Save. After you click "Publish Comment," your image should appear where you inserted it (which should be here after your introduction.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
Write 250-500 words describing the website's site map that you illustrated above. Some relevant details to include might be where certain links are located on the page, which are emphasized and others de-emphasized, and your own observations about what the site map and its links tell you about the company/organization whose website you selected.Fourth, stay tuned for the next stage of this homework, which we will begin in Week 6. In Week 6, you will compare the site maps for the contemporary website and its older archived version.
TO: Prof Ellis
FROM: Jaida Clouden
DATE: 3/6/23
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for [https://http://www.payless.com]
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to draw out a site map of an archived version of payless’s website from 2000 using the Wayback Machine.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [Wayback Machine (archive.org)]
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
On the Wayback Machine archive page, I found an archived website capture of Payless from March 2, 2000. The capture shows that there were three images on the top front page of the website. However, the images are deleted and do not appear on the screen.
On the Payless archived site, there are nine tabs on the top of the screen with a green-pigmented highlighted background with black text. The tabs are split into different categories so that it’s easier for users to locate and search for the items they want. The nine tabs navigate the users toward each of their needs.
The nine tabs shown are Shoe Finder, Lot Finder, Store Finder, Women’s, Men’s, Girls’, Boys’ Infants’, and Speciality.
Each tab sends you to another link from the company.
-The Shoe Finder tab brings you to a page that has information about the different size guides for women, men, and children.
-The Lot Finder tab brings you to a search bar where you find the exact shoe that you want as long as you type in the shoe number.
-The Store Finder tab sends you to a page where you can search and find other Payless locations.
-The Women’s tab sends you to a page where you can choose a shoe size and choose a category of shoe that you are looking for.
-The Men’s tab sends you to a page where you can choose a shoe size and choose a category of shoe that you are looking for.
-The Girl’s, Boy’s, and Infant’s tab sends you to a page where you can click on a particular shoe size, and a category of different shoes will appear.
-The Specialty tab shows a net data error when I click on the tab.
My overall observation about the archived site map is that there are a variety of tabs that users can click on from the home page of Payless. Many ads state the Payless logo, which is to save. The company’s website allows users an easy experience to find exactly what they are looking for.
To: Prof. Ellis
From: Bria Glenn
Date: March 13, 2023
Subject: Historical Site Map for [http://www.llbean.com/]
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to show the historical site map for my website. The site map shown is for the 1996 version of the website and it was accessed via the Wayback machine.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [http://www.llbean.com/]
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
The earliest version of the L.L. Bean website was from 1996 and is completely different from the version they currently have. The site map above, is much simpler than my previous one. The website’s quality is not as clear, and there aren’t many graphics as the current website. The home screen shows the company name and a figure of a camper with a mountain background. The titles for the categories located on the site are located on the left side of the home screen.
With my site map, I attempted to layout the pages and accompanied links in the order they appear on the screen. Along with the categories being located on the left side of the screen, they are also located on the bottom of the screen where you can click on them. The five categories located off to the side are only for the graphics of the website, they do not actually lead anywhere. With the categories on the bottom, they will lead you to the page for that subpage.
All links on the bottom are blue upon opening the website but turn purple to show you have accessed that part of the site. When you click on the links, the pages have a simple design with a similar layout to the home page. The formatting on each page is easy to read. On some pages, there are other links that lead you to more links, and so on. On the bottom of each page are links that lead you to the other main pages.
One thing I noticed was the pages for actual products do not exist, or they show a “page not found” sign. On these pages, it leads you to a different layout of the website which is more updated than the 1996 site. With the contact information, there are only emails provided. In terms of the overall design, it is very simple and easy to access. For it to be an older website it functions better than I expected.
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Kahini Chauhan
DATE: 3/11/23
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for [http://www.cdc.gov/]
INTRODUCTION This memo illustrates a site map for the CDC website in 1996.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [http://www.cdc.gov/]
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
Technology manifests itself in different ways. The site map above is reverse engineering a website that was made approximately 27 years ago. The CDC website utilized on December 22, 1996, there was a main eye-catching icon that grabbed the attention of the audience. It was archived from another website and the links are no longer found.
The top of the page emphasized the CDC logo and its main content. The CDC logo image stood out from the entire landing page and the content continued below it. There was a text box next to the caption requesting the users to click on the icon to learn more. Many categories were repetitive and there was a lot of white space. There were 8 categories with hyperlinks under the CDC logo. The 8 categories were. contact us, what’s new, health information, traveler’s health, publications and products, data and statistics training and employment, and funding.
The middle page link was briefer but suppose to provide a wide range of content. The three links were search, subscriptions, and other sites. The links were horizontally written in an orange-colored box. The bottom of the page consisted of all the same links just in different formatting and separated by pipes. In a blue font that changed to pink when clicked on.
Further down, there was information about what the CDC is and its website usage. I created the site map by using the CDC name at the top along with the link as the main heading. I then choose the two main categories, the top and mid-page links. The main categories were then divided into sub-categories. Overall, the site map consists of each link without repetition.
TO: Professor Jason W. Ellis
FROM: Ronald C. Hinds
DATE: March 13, 2023
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for [http://www.stc.org]
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to show an archived version of the website, and to draw a site map, of the Society for Technical Communication, obtained via the InterWaybackMachine and dated June 06, 2004.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [http://www.stc.org]
https://ibb.co/mbCZtkg
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
The website’s site map which can be found, from the URL above: https://ibb.co/mbCZtkg is not an interactive one. It is also not too inviting. It has drop-boxes, is descriptive, has hyper-texts, which I have emphasized in the sitemap, and, which the user can click on a link to open informative page(s). Clicking on a link causes a web page to change its content and to reveal itself.
The user of the website does not have to be a member of the STC to read previous issues of magazines which is a plus for those who cannot afford student membership. I like the content and the website has great learning tools for those who wish to arm themselves with the tools of the trade. The user can, as a benefit of membership, peruse its Job Data Base and/or enroll in a Special Interest Group or SIG. With my membership package I enrolled in a SIG that discusses editing as a point of interest. My plan is to specialize in technical writing as an editor. The tips I get are amazing and the website quite rightfully emphasizes these groups to the audience.
Membership also includes opportunities to buy insurance for interested parties who wish to provide for their families. Under “Academic Programs” the user can satisfy his/her curiosity in “Student Competitions”. This is an aspect that my fellow students can be participants of and there are also on-line “Competitions” which are open to non-students and which one can use as an avenue to record articles for publication. These can make a difference on one’s resume.
At the time this website was available STC had 150 Local Chapters, as a “Benefit of Membership”, and the cross pollination between members of different chapters should not be underestimated. This is also an opening for networking and mentor-ship. At $80.00 per year you get your money’s worth.
I did not see this website prior to this exercise and found it very insightful
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Sphear Forde
DATE: March 12, 2023
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for [https://web.archive.org/web/19961225142524/https://www.pbs.org/]
INTRODUCTION
This memo contains a site map for the 1996 archived version of PBS website and a summary describing the site map. I was able to view the 1996 archived version of PBS website through the Wayback Machine.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [https://web.archive.org/web/19961225142524/https://www.pbs.org/]
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
On the PBS website home page there are eight main navigation tabs. All eight navigation tabs are centered in the middle of the homepage and organized in a descending hierarchy. The eight tabs are: what’s on PBS, shop PBS, Inside PBS, Your PBS station, Learn with PBS, e-mail PBS, the democracy project and online news hour. The online newshour tab is the only navigation tab enclosed in red outlined box filled with blue and white text. The other seven navigation tabs are enclosed in a red outline box filled with green and yellow text.
Each tab navigates users to different pages on the PBS website. For example, the online newshour navigation tab navigates users to the news forum which consist of several different news forums. The shopPBS tab takes users to the PBS shopping page. A few subpages have missing images that are inaccessible through the link provided at the bottom of the page.
On the site map, each main tab is represented by a rectangular medium size box that is linked to the homepage box. The subpage for each main tab is linked to side of each main tab box. Based on the site map, and the links tells me that PBS is an organization that designs for the user. The layout of the homepage allows users to easily navigate the website from the homepage. The eight main navigation tabs and current events are located in the center of the homepage and organized in a descending hierarchy. The navigation tabs are first followed by a list of current events. Information about PBS and the PBS technology alliance programs is located at the bottom of the page.
To: Professor Ellis
From: Tiana Beatty
Date 03.13.2023
Subject: Historical Sitemap for Bestbuy.com
The purpose of this memo is show and explain the 1996 version of Bestbuy.com which I found archived in the Internet Wayback.
The 1996 version of Bestbuy.com was different and had different tabs from the website that we known today. There were seven tabs on the homepage which included: home, weekly best buys, what’s in store, movies, music & software, company info, feature teacher, and locations.
These tabs linked to other tabs that would redirect you to other parts of the site. But since this was founded on December 25th, Christmas Day the site was mainly consisted of Christmas and holiday information. I thought this was interesting because the promotion of electronics and other software devices was popularized and Best Buy would throw sales back then. It was interesting to see how far Best Buy had come since 1996 because there are more products and softwares that Best Buy provides now. Technology really has changed the way we live in society today.
TO: Professor Ellis
FROM: Khaled Akam
DATE: March 12, 2023
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map [fbi.gov]
INTRODUCTION
This memo includes the use of Internet Wayback Machine to receive an archive of the website, http://www.fbi.gov from 22 October 1996. As well as a discussion describing the appearance of the website with details.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR [fbi.gov] 1996
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
At first glance I saw that there are no pictures on the website other then the FBI logo at the top center of the page. The logo is a small square that sort of looks like a flag with wrinkles with the FBI seal in the middle. The seal has words around it but the smaller words inside the center of the seal is not readable, but I am able to deduce three words being presented.
Surrounding this logo is four links to what this organization believes is worthy give to the audience. This links from left to right are crime alert, field home pages, what’s new, and welcome. Below this small section at the top center of the page with nothing left or right but white filler, is section breaks that display a line from left to right of the entire website when scrolling down.
The first section break is bolded with FBI followed by the “Director: Louis J. Freeh” and another section break. This is when I now notice bolded titles with bullet links separated with section breaks all the way to the bottom of the website. The last two section breaks have centered information with the first having links to homepages of the U.S department of justice and society of former special agents of the FBI. The second is just a sentence saying not to use the name, initials, or seal of the FBI without permission.
The FBI website clearly shows an organization that is followed with section breaks from top to bottom. With the most important being centered at the top two section breaks with the name of the person in charge. A clear sign of having the bosses name at the center of attention to have transparency to the audience.
To: Professor Ellis
From: Sandy Fougeres
Date: 03/12/23
Subject: Historical Site Map for Meetup.com
INTRODUCTION
Hello Professor Ellis, this is a memo about the historical site map for Meetup.com. I accessed the site using the Internet Wayback Machine and chose the date November 24, 2002. In this memo, I will describe what Meetup.com is about, the process I took to create my historical site map, what I chose to emphasize and de-emphasize, and my thoughts on the older version of the website.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR MEETUP.COM
https://ibb.co/bzB14gs
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
Meetup.com is a website for creating and attending group events that is based on one’s interests and hobbies. I chose this website because I have used it before and while searching for it on the Internet Wayback Machine, I noticed that it was in existence before 2005. I decided on the date November 24, 2002, because most of the earlier versions of the site did not work properly. While on the website, the first things I noticed was that they were hiring, that there were many links, and that the website was not visually appealing. The website emphasizes information gathering as it has the questions what, who, where, why, and how posted at the top.
It then goes into answering these questions about the site and lays out links about the topics, cities, countries and how to find your topic/hobby, for my site map I decided to include these links. On the right side of the landing page, there are sections such as fast growing topics, fast growing cities, top topics, top cities and a browse all cities link. Under each of these sections, I realized there are more links to different events according to the column it’s in. I decided to draw this on my site map, adding arrows to indicate the links following below each other. I also include the links at the very bottom of the page where it lists the links for the home, help, suggest venue and topic, jobs, and the about page.
On the landing page, there are larger sections for featured meetups, upcoming meetups, and latest memberships. I decided not to include those sections in my site map because the links listed were events happening in different states and about the people who recently became members of the site. Finally, I noticed that the overall lay out of the site is to encourage people to become a member and for them to explore the different events happening in their area. I also noticed that the site includes comments from members who have attended events or are inquiring about upcoming events in their cities.
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Khemraj Persaud
DATE: 3/13/2023
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for ThePirateBay.org
INTRODUCTION
This memo will discuss the historical site map for ThePirateBay.org. Its purpose is to break down the home page of the site from the day of its inception and will contain a drawn-out site map on copy paper.
HISTORICAL SITE MAP FOR ThePirateBay.org
https://ibb.co/NNd48J0
HISTORICAL SITE MAP DISCUSSION
For this assignment, I created a site map for ThePirateBay.org based on a snapshot of the website from Archive.org. Although the site was a basic site from 2004, it was more complicated that I thought it would be. This is because of how websites were developed back then, very basic with mostly links and text.
At the top of the page, you can find the logo of the organization, which serves as a link to the homepage as well. Directly under that are several links. The original site was in Swedish, and the links at the top (organized in a single row across) read as follows: “Index,” “Nytt Konto,” “Kontrollpanel,” “Ladda upp,” “Topplister,” and “FAQ.”
The middle of the page consisted of the main display area to links to various torrents. The top of the this area was named “Sok efter torrents,” and contained a search bar, drop down menu, and a clickable action button entitled “Search.” Directly to the right of that another section named “Visa torrents.” Right under that title was another line of text that said “Visa torrenter av:” followed by two drop box menus and another clickable button named “Show.” Under this is where a list of different files to download are located. The list had several headings for the filies, including “Typ,” “Namn,” “Filer,” “Komm,” “Seedare,” and “Leechare.” The are the sections that had clickable links in them, everything else was just text. Under these headings came the actual files. The “Typ” links included categories such as “Annat.,” “TV,” and “Musik.” The “Namn” of the files included “MacOSX – Serial Box 07.2004,” “Grattis Victoria,” and “Korn Album.”
At the bottom of the page there was a button called “Nasta” and a link that read “PhpTracker/TorrentTrader.” Overall, this was a basic website from the mid-2000s. You can see this by the style of text, organization of links, and aesthetic. After observing the site, it could be said that the designers were going for standard approach that emphasized usability and search functions for content as opposed to fancier graphic design.
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Naila Butt
DATE: 13 March 2023
SUBJECT: Historical Site Map for nytimes.com (1997)
Introduction:
This memo will entail a site map of the New York Times (NYT) from 1997 and a brief discussion of the findings.
Historical Site Map for NYT (1997):
Historical Site Map Discussion:
While creating the above site map, I noticed many sections listed to the left of the site. The sections contain different categories of news articles. Ex: Politics, Sports, Business, and so forth. There are also even more categories listed below the set of sections. It seems that some of these sections are the typical sections you would find in a newspaper, like, classified, services, breaking news, etc.
The middle of the site displays an image where I was hoping to see whether or not the image had a link embedded into it that might have redirected the user to an article. The image was clickable, but the remained inconclusive since Wayback Machine did not have that information.
The right section of the NYT (1997) site had two links to the headlines: “From Today’s Times” and “In CyberTimes.” It seems like the developers thought that these two categories were noteworthy for their audience, so they isolated them to the right and made them in a bigger font. Overall, Many hyperlinks that lead to the different sections and categories are compact within the NYT site. It is clearly shown that NYT is trying to categorize its content so the user can navigate the site. However, I noticed that the website’s search button was listed at the bottom, which was almost hard to see and looked like a category itself. This might be an accessibility issue as people might not know that they can search through the site if the search bar is located at the bottom of the site.