← Back to context

Comment by GavinMcG

3 years ago

Ok, but if we're being honest, you can make that sort of claim about anything and it's equally as unhelpful. Things can have value even if you can't perfectly define a metric, and even if others might use different metrics.

The author explained why they think it's great, so rather than waving your hands and denying that greatness could ever be defined, what about a constructive approach? Engage with the elements the author identified. Criticize specific ones, or suggest others. Say something you actually believe!

Hi, thanks for your message.

Maybe I didn't express myself very well.

If you don't know what a great ecommerce website is, what is has, what it does, does reading a piece where someone says some site is a great e-commerce website influence your opinion? Does it shape your view?

If so, how does previous literature about the subject influenced the writer?

So, a great e-commerce website should be measured by it's form or by it's results?

Why non functional and not great websites thrive?

Would Jeff Bezos be fixated on those pixels because he believed that as long as amazon.com kept growing and selling, the site must therefore working great?

Those are all sincere questions, not rhetorical or trolling.

  • I don't think you're trolling, but again, you're not actually saying anything here. That's why you need to make the disclaimer that those are sincere questions. I'm suggesting that you instead take positions, even if weakly held ones. In other words, I think that you're doing something covert when you say "[N]o one knows what is a great e-commerce website. Is one that sells a lot? ... [T]hat is very easy to use?" or ask "So, a great e-commerce website should be measured by it's form or by it's results?"

    What do you think? The article emphasized form and function. You seem to be proposing that results matter. Say that!

    Just cobbling together bits of what you're "asking" it seems like you might instead have written the following: "It seems to me that the article focuses on form: simple design, great search and filtering, and useful information like CAD files. But being 'the best e-commerce site' needs to include succeeding at e-commerce. Being very easy to use might help. But there seem to be non functional and not 'great' websites (by the article's definition) that thrive."