> -----Original Message----- > From: ietf [mailto:ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Keith Moore > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 12:26 PM > To: ietf@xxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: Call for Community Input: Web Analytics on www.ietf.org > > On 5/21/19 11:17 AM, Roman Danyliw wrote: > > Hi! > > > > The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) is seeking community input > on implementing web analytics on www.ietf.org ("the website"). > > > > There is currently no accurate data reported about visits to the website. > For example, it is not possible to understand: which pages are most > commonly visited; which paths visitors travel to find IETF meeting registration > pages; or whether introductory information, such as tutorials, leads to > further exploration of website content. Web analytics would provide insight > into overall utilization and inform future improvements to the website. > > > > In consultation with the tools team, Greg Wood developed an > implementation plan to integrate a self-hosted analytics package into the > existing infrastructure. The full details of this proposal are available at: > > > > https://www.ietf.org/iesg/docs/www.ietf.org-AnalyticsProposal-forRevie > > w.pdf > > > > The IESG appreciates any input from the community on this proposal and > will consider all input received by June 4, 2019. > > The main concern I have is: be careful how you use the statistics. For > instance, don't interpret the frequency that a page is used, by itself, as an > indicator of the importance of that page. If a page is visited often, it might > mean the page is important, or it might mean that the page is getting in the > way - a needless extra click or a dead end at which people give up. Similarly, if > a page is not visited often, it might still be important - it might be a page that > helps the rare user who needs an answer to a very important question. > > There's an unfortunate tendency everywhere these days to place faith in > data that's easy to collect but not a good indication of what is wanted, > because the information really wanted is hard to collect. ("Where did you > lose your keys?" "Inside the house." "Then why are you looking for them > under the streetlight?" "The light is better here.") Your caution is noted. Next to nothing is comprehensively collected now so the proposal is positioning for future decision making on the basis of usage data. Roman
