Re: lynx-dev LYNX: more pleas for the L-page addrs

[Klaus Weide]

Maybe I shouldn't revive this old thread, but... just to add some
comments:

On Tue, 19 Jan 1999, Bela Lubkin wrote:

> Third is the "L" page.  When we go to the "L" page of index.html, Lynx
> shows us titles *if* it knows them; otherwise it falls back to URLs.  I
> suspect this behavior is because the original author of the "L" page
> really wanted the titles, but since they were not always available,
> chose the URL as a sensible fallback.

The changelog entry describes it:

06-14-95
* Added LYK_LIST command ('l' or 'L'; must be uppercase if VI keys are on)
  for creating an ACTIVATEable list of references (links) in the current
  document.  If LINKS_ARE_NUMBERED is on, it's a UL, otherwise it's an
  OL.  Visited links have the TITLE displayed, otherwise the HREF is
  displayed. - FM

Btw. if Lynx is used as a dial-in menu system for potentially
unexperienced users, giving preference to the TITLE makes even more
sense - presumably all internal pages would have carefully crafted
titles that make sense and help navigating the system.

Ideally the same would be true for the WWW.  At least those regions
of the WWW whose authors do care about meaningful titles gain from giving
preference to titles - a user doesn't need to be able to "read" URLs
at all.

   Klaus