Overview: Page Structure Explained by Section

Many pages in this website sit within an encompassing network of related pages, and their subjects cannot be fully grasped without also exploring those other pages. Further, the content and structure of each such page can itself be relatively complex.

The first section in complex pages will usually be a Summary, which is meant to provide a relatively quick and simple presentation of the major points made in other sections lower down the page. If you find that the summary piques your interest, then you can continue reading to find out more about the subject covered on that page. If the summary is sufficient in itself, then the second section immediately below the summary should be helpful in determining where you want to go next.

The second section of the page (Navigational Aids) will contain two tables, each of which is designed to help you navigate through the area of the website associated with the page you are reading, as well as to help orient you within the page itself. The left-hand table will contain links to other pages that are related to the page you are on. The right-hand table will contain information about the page itself, including a table of contents that you can use to navigate within the page.

Please take a moment now to examine these tables and then continue reading.

Did you note the term "TLoops" and wonder what they were? They will be explained in more detail in the next section.

On pages with tables like the two above, the third section of the page will be an "Overview" section (like this one that you are reading now). This Overview section is designed to expand on the material in the Summary section by providing somewhat more detail on the various aspects of the subject of the page. Again, this is designed to help you get a better picture of the overall subject of the page but not require you to read all the details inherent in the subject.

The fourth section of the page will provide the details of the subject. It will consist of as many sections and subsections as are required to discuss the subject of the page fully. If you find that you want to know the specific points, the fine details, and the full conclusions drawn, this is the area of the page you will want to read.

Finally, the last section will be a "Conclusion", where concluding points are summarized. This area may include links to other pages on the site, links to pages on other sites, and so on.

Details: About Topical Loops

This section on a page will normally contain an expanded discussion of the various aspects of the subject of the page. On this page, the Overview section contains most of the information needed and does not need to be expanded upon, with one exception.

The exception is the explanation needed for a navigational device I am calling a "Topical Loop". The following subsection discusses TLoops in detail.

An Explanation of Topical Loops

If you can imagine that I am handing you a ball of ideas like a ball of yarn, saying "Here is my set of ideas," you would (understandably) have great difficulty in actually understanding the contents of that ball of yarn. All you would see at first is just a snarled-up bunch of yarn. It's taken me decades to work out the various elements of this set of topics for myself, and I am still exploring them. I owe it to you to help you, to make it as straightforward as possible, to pull out each thread and understand it, until all the threads lie open before you.

To make this entire process more manageable for you, I am introducing the idea of "Topical Loops" or "TLoops" for short. A TLoop consists of a series of linked pages that start on the page you are reading, loop out through the other pages in the TLoop, and then return you to the page where you started.

To help you navigate through a TLoop, the table on the left side of the "Navigational Aids" section of the page will have a link to the next page in the TLoop and may also show other links to some of the major pages in that TLoop. When you are in a TLoop, the table will also show links to the Tloop's source and end page. Note that this table will show the page within the TLoop that is currently being displayed to you, marking it with a background of bright yellow and an inactive link.

I want to point out that a specific TLoop could have one or more subsidiary TLoops which spring out from and return to that parent TLoop, rather than to the TLoop’s original starting page. Again, the table of loop pages will show if the TLoop you are on is part of another TLoop or one that starts from the page you are on, so you can always orient yourself easily within the related subject material.

On this page I cannot show you a sample TLoop, but other pages will show you what I mean.

Conclusion

I understand that the exigencies of your world will pull you away, to run an errand, go to work, get some sleep, play with your children, or hang out with friends. Whatever the reason that pulls you away, I have a suggestion that should help you pick up again where you left off, when next you have a chance to visit this site.

I would like to suggest that when you have to end your session, you save the bookmark for the specific page you are reading at that time. Put the bookmark in an obvious place in your list of bookmarks. When you have time to continue reading here, all you need to do is click that bookmark to go right back to the page you were reading. By looking at the tables in the Navigational Aids section of that page, you will quickly be able to orient yourself within the website and comfortably resume reading where you had left off.