SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Top ### Lists

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Lists, lists, lists...

I am sick of the way that these lists are presented on the internet. Top 10, Top 50, Top 100... it doesn't matter, they are all presented the same way.

Page 1:
Welcome to the Top <Number> <Topic> List!
Click the button/link below to begin with the worst entry!

Page 2:
#100000
This <Topic> .... <Review>
Click the button/link below to see a slightly better <Topic>

Page 3:
#99999
This <Topic> .... <Review>
Click the button/link below to see a slightly better <Topic>

Page 4:
#99998
This <Topic> .... <Review>
Click the button/link below to see a slightly better <Topic>

...
...
...

Page 100000:
This <Topic> .... <Review>
Thank you for reading this list.
Click the button/link below to see another <Topic 2>.

So what is my problem with this format? At no point is there an actual list presented that can be read on a single page. The design only reviews one item at a time. The point of this is to increase the number of page hits and the amount of total time on the domain. This makes website statistics look better.

What do I want?

I want two things.

1) A list. It can be at the end, but I want a damn list on one page of all of the items in the list.
2) An index. This could very easily be just a list with hyperlinks. Kill both of these items with one stone. But if that isn't doable, I still think an index is necessary. Don't make me just click Next or Previous.

Posted: Apr 08 2009 12:21 pm

That's an excellent point, GP. I personally love top X lists and have never really thought about or minded the format, but I agree that a list at the end with hyperlinks is a great idea. I can't tell you how many times I've had to click page by page through a top X list trying to find the entry I want.

An alternative would be to do what Syd did in his Top S/NES game reviews, and provide a hyperlinked list on the side. I quite like that. (Although a full, consolidated, hyperlinked list at the end is still the best option I think.)

Posted: Apr 08 2009 06:13 pm

A list should only be 2 or 3 pages. Sort of like what Cracked.com does, they put like 5 things on one page and then have a next button. It's really annoying when there's only one item per page and there's not really a lot written about it.