Irving T. Summary Three

Tham, Jason Chew Kit (2016). Rhetorical web design: Thinking critically about ready-made web templates and the problem of ease. Xchanges, 12(1)

SUMMARY

In this journal, Tham argues that ready-made web templates such as WordPress.com encourages users to see the interface as maps of capitalism, logocentrism, and linguistic privilege. He continues by stating that using these mediums exclusively, compromises a person’s autonomy in full self-expression and identity on the web. The solution Tham suggests is for students to get an early exposure to critical and rhetorical sensibilities in web writing and design communication. Courses such as rhetorical web design, visual rhetoric, and writing with digital technologies could help students dive deeper into the impacts of design practices on authorship, message delivery, visual communicative ethics and self-expression and web identity. Other suggestions mentioned by the end of the article include a collaboration between veteran web developer, web design critics/scholars and novice web designers.

“…the interface fades into the background and users are only able to enact and understand identities through limited representation of themselves, rather than a tightly controlled depiction…Other users, when attempting to construct their own pages using the template theme, face similar restrictions due to the template design. Figures 5 and 6 show two examples of Responsive Theme used for commercial purposes.”

RESPONSE

According to Tham, the field of rhetoric and cyber communications have developed to the extent that we now have new platforms to express ideas in a variety of subjects. He cautions readers that platforms like WordPress.com can be convenient and user-friendly but leads users to compromise individuality, self-expression and digital identity. He is not the first author to caution users about losing ones digital identity (Arola, 2010; Banks 2006). In the early stages of Facebook, users were limited in changing fonts, layouts, the navigation bar color etc. This indirectly encourages a controlled identity based on what users post and what others post about users (Arola, 2010). Similar to the real world, race, self-expression, cultural identity and registers play a role in cyberspaces (Banks, 2006). So it is important particularly for a minority group to approach ready-made templates with a critical lens and transform cyberspaces to meet and express their own interests and voices.

I agree with Tham it is better for an individual to build web pages and cyber platforms from the ground up in order to have additional control over layouts, fonts, colors, and ultimately self-expression. As stated in his article, software programs are not neutral and carry a line along axes of class, race and cultural privilege. That being said, I believe there are times where those aspects of digital identity can be overlooked when the means to an end are not as significant. Examples that come to mind include, grassroots advocates using Go FundMe to help people affected by anti-immigrant laws, or when the Zello walkie-talkie app is used to organize protests against an oppressing government or Black Twitter used as a tool to express a Black voice and a counter-narrative to the mainstream media. There are instances where self-expression can occur in ready-made web templates because of the identity behind the screen and keyboard not despite the lack of self-expression on the web page.

Hashtags such as the one used
above allow users to connect over
issues of interest found on BlackTwitter.

QUOTATIONS

“…the author challenges the validation of ease in using prefabricated applications and ready-made web templates – teaching users to analyze specific audiences and rhetorical situations in the design of websites, and not to compromise their autonomy in full self-expression and identity on the web.”

“Because the template remains static and is the same for every user who chooses this design for their website, the interface fades into the background and users are only able to enact and understand identities through limited representation of themselves, rather than a tightly controlled depiction.”

“…we must also acknowledge there is a power imbalance between expert developers and everyday web users. To neutralize the tensions, those with the expertise and experience should take the lead in creating common grounds for all to interact and learn to program.”

“The web development and design community must be aware of user needs and user goals before flooding them with ready-made templates and code libraries for ease and efficiency’s sake.”

Arola, K. (2010). The design of web 2.0: The rise of the template, the fall of design. Computers and Composition, 27, 4-14.

Banks, A. (2006). Race, Rhetoric, and Technology. New York: Routledge