Summary: I add PurpleSlurple to the weblogging tools I find indispensable. If we are to be hyperlinked let the links be granular. A link to a granular address takes you to a very close approximation of] the exact words, the exact picture in the refered to document. A link to the document as-a-whole, even if as short as a 5 paragraph weblog entry [or, perhaps more predictably, a comparable static web page] , causes too great a break in the reader's train of thought. [searching around for material to which author was apparently referring].
With this purpleslurple address, for example, you can locate and read the reference ( at purple number 182) and come back to the original article with your thought stream intact.
Thus, PurpleSlurple is a terrific enhancement to the web writer's ability to meaningfully and effectively fold materials from many distinct web locations into a smooth deliver of story, online lesson, explication, etc.
As a consumer of web data and essays there's nothing you need to do to use another person's Purpleslurple referencing. Just click on the link and go to the purple number indicated.
For the writer / researcher there's a bit more to do.
- Go to the PurpleSlurple link.
- Follow that link to the code page which will allow you to install a bookmarklet on your toolbar.
- Whenever you want to address a document in granular fashion click the bookmarklet. [Purpleslurple will number the document for you].
- Then click on the purple number nearest your target.
- Your browser's address bar will show you a purpleslurple address which you copy and paste into the web document you are writing.
Writers beware of other writers who revise frequently(I'm an example). Your purpleslurple reference will only be accurate if the document hasn't been revised. If the author has reorganzied or added paragraphs the number will be take you to some unintended location in the referred to document.
An obvious drawback: documents in black or purple will not show the purpleslurple numbers.
Less obvious drawback-- numbering technique is not yet exact. Occasional skips plus occasional double numbering. (I found this to be particularly so with complex web pages, tables etc.)
Quibbles aside, I love it. If I give you the link (and the nearest number within the target document) I will interweave hyperspace material far more effectively than if I had simply linked to a page.
