ELM Evaluation
for the work titled
DESCENDING ROAD
When you try to use the ELM demo software to read DESCENDING ROAD, you may run into questions or problems. I'd appreciate all feedback on any difficulties you meet. I'd also like to know what really works especially well for you when you read part or all of the ELM. Here are some specific areas of concern for me, together with some questions in each area.
You can:
– Dana W. Paxson
Your Name (optional) _____________________________ Date of Evaluation _____________
Parts of the ELM
Did you find the following parts of the ELM? Tell whether each part you found was useful or not, how you used it, and what you liked most and least about it.
Scene Window
Glossary Window
Encyclopedia Window
Introduction page (in scene window)
The Singularity page (in scene window)
Index of Scenes (in glossary window)
Glossary Supplement (in glossary window)
Scene links to glossary (in scene window)
Glossary links to glossary (in glossary window)
Glossary links to encyclopedia (in glossary window)
Glossary links to scenes (in glossary window)
Encyclopedia links to glossary (in encyclopedia window)
User Interface
What did you like most about the user interface?
What did you dislike most about the user interface?
Compared to reading a printed book, was reading a story thread easy or hard? What feature was easier in the ELM? What feature was harder in the ELM? (Put 'easier' by the listed term below if the ELM's feature was easier to use than a printed book's, and 'harder' if the reverse was true.
Print size
Typeface
Contrast between print and background
Scrolling vs. turning printed page
Clicking on 'To Next' vs. turning printed page
Returning to a page
Looking up a term in the glossary
Did you use alternate links (links besides "To Next") after reading a scene? Which ones did you use, and how often? (Put 'not at all', 'infrequently', 'sometimes', or 'frequently' next to each link type listed below
To Previous
Introduction
Main Page
Links to Titled Scenes
Nearby
Far Off
Navigation
For each of the following questions, circle the applicable term or terms listed.
Did you browse through story threads, rather than reading each thread from start to finish? Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently |
Did you use the browser back or forward button? Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently |
Did you use the glossary (glossary window)? Didn't know it was there Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently |
Did you find the glossary useful? Not at all Occasionally Usually Very often |
Did you browse within the glossary? Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently Got lost in glossary and forgot about story Switched from one story thread to another via glossary references |
Did you use the glossary index of scenes? Didn't know it was there Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently Got lost browsing through index and indexed scenes Switched from one story thread to another via index references |
Did you use the glossary supplement? Didn't know it was there Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently Got lost browsing through glossary supplement Switched from one story thread to another via glossary supplement |
Did you use the encyclopedia (reference window)? Didn't know it was there Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently |
Did you browse within the encyclopedia? Not at all Infrequently Sometimes Frequently Got lost in encyclopedia and forgot about story Switched from one story thread to another via encyclopedia references |
Did you enjoy browsing more, or reading story threads more? (Mark all that are applicable) Preferred browsing strongly Preferred browsing somewhat Didn't care one way or the other Preferred reading story threads somewhat Preferred reading story threads strongly Enjoyed both Didn't like either one |
Did you enjoy getting lost in the ELM? Very much Somewhat Not much Not at all |
Would you want to read other large, complex works using an ELM treatment? Very much Somewhat Not very much Not at all |
What kinds of works would you like to see done as ELMs? Epic world-building stories Literary textbooks User manuals for systems and tools Scientific textbooks Mathematics textbooks Scholarly papers Legal documents News reports and analyses None Other (please list): |
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Stories You Read
Which of the main story threads did you try to read? The list of main threads is displayed in the Introduction. (Number each thread you tried to read in order from the first one you tried to the last one you tried. Leave blank any threads you didn't try to read. For example, if you tried to read "Andrew's Road" first, "Sulimar's Road" second, "Pyro Man" third, and then you didn't read any more threads, put a '1' after "Andrew's Road", a '2' after "Sulimar's Road", a '3' after "Pyro Man", and leave the rest blank.)
Descending Road __
Andrew's Road __
Ezzar's Road __
Jeddin's Road __
Marra's Road __
Arlen's Road __
Pyro Man __
Lejina's Change __
Derizan's Journey __
Weaving Inward __
Deng's Ride __
The Sirathen Road __
Sulimar's Road __
Descent to Tarnus __
From the Wall __
Dance of War __
Did anything make you stop reading a thread? If so, what made you stop reading it? (Use the titles of the threads, and write or mark each one by the appropriate outcome listed below. For example, if you quit reading "Andrew's Road" because you got bored, completed "Pyro Man", and didn't finish "Sulimar's Road" when your computer died, put "Pyro Man" next to "Finished Threads", "Andrew's Road" next to "Threads unfinished due to boredom", and next to "Threads unfinished for other reasons", put "Sulimar's Road" followed by something like "computer died".)
Finished threads:
Threads unfinished by author (some of these return you to the Introduction page or the Singularity page):
Threads unfinished due to boredom:
Threads unfinished due to poor writing:
Threads unfinished due to disagreeable content:
Threads unfinished due to confusion in story:
Threads unfinished due to confusion about how to continue reading:
Threads unfinished due to outside interruptions:
Threads unfinished for other reasons (please list the reason by each thread you numbered here):
General Comments:
Here you might want to add other impressions you have of the ELM, and other observations about your interactions with it. If you hit any bugs, glitches, or errors, here's a good place to list the ones you feel are important.
Demographics