Help
Using this site
Dangerous Citizens Online is designed to be an interactive reading and multimedia experience, without the usual interruptions in reading that multimedia can cause. Dangerous Citizens was a perfect choice for an effort of this kind, due to the author's use of content she identifies as parerga, or shadow text, marked like footnotes within the text.
Interspersed within the main text of this site, you will find five different icons. These icons indicate that a parergon is available, and each icon design indicates what kind of media will be revealed when you click on it (see inset). The content within will provide some additional information or clarification about the main narrative. For text parerga, some show in a single window, some in a transparent box that floats over the main narrative, and some in a carousel format. When a carousel window is open, each window shows approximately fifty-five words, and the reader can scroll through the windows either via the arrows on the bottom, or via mouse wheel.
The fifth icon, the light bulb, signifies a new addition to the originally published text and appears on a parerga icon. New content always features a light pink background behind it. Within the main text and other already existing text, new content is underlined with a dashed line. Other new additions including images, large sections of text, new paragraphs, and audio and video files are outlined with a dashed border. When the mouse passes over the light bulb, a box appears stating when the content was added.
In addition to these icons, images of asterisks and references to Works Cited appear throughout the main text. Asterisks indicate true footnotes from the author. While their basic function on the page is the same as the parerga, their grey background distinguishes them from parerga, which have a white background. There are references to Works Cited within the text. These are underlined and will appear in the same format as asterisks, in the right sidebar. Works Cited is also included as an alphabetical list at the end of the book for readers who wish to view it in that format.
Additional book content has been designed for non-linear reading. The Chronology and Documents back matter has been re-imagined for web-friendly use.
In a row below the upper navigation, “Documents” features four small boxes, each representing one document. When a reader selects one of the documents via mouse or keyboard, a larger version will appear below the row of document image boxes. In addition, the reader will have the option of viewing an even larger version of the image.
Chronology is currently displayed as all text, but in future iterations it will use a scrollable and draggable timeline to allow the reader to view whichever year is of interest. The black and white arrows on either side allow you to scroll along the length of the timeline; and you can drag the gray transparent box to select a specific year. The reader can also view all events on a single page, or enter the desired year in a search box.
At the bottom of all main pages, there is a persistent footer (see above) that includes not only the icon key but controls for a better user experience. The reader may click on “Navigate the Book,” which will open a window that lists the contents of the book. When “Close Extras” is clicked, all parerga will clear from the right sidebar.
An Ethnographic Footnote
"What has become known as 'the linguistic turn' in the humanities and the social sciences has engendered a position that stands critically not only towards the content of analysis but, equally importantly, has enabled new forms of writing." - N. Panourgiá, in her description of her graduate class Experimental Ethnographies
As you read, remember you are participating in another experimental ethnography.
Need more information?
Contact info@cdrs.columbia.edu
Technical Requirements
This site has been tested on Windows XP with multiple Service Packs, Windows 7, Mac OSX Leopard, and Ubuntu Linux. It requires one of the following browsers:
- Firefox 3 or higher (all platforms)
- IE 8 (or higher) (Windows only)
- Chrome 3 or higher (Windows only)
- Safari/Webkit (all platforms)
This site can be viewed via Safari/Webkit on iPhone.
We recommend viewing on a machine with 512MB of RAM or more.
If you browse the web with images auto-loading, we recommend 100M of free hard drive space.
Information about this site
This site is designed and built for a monitor/screen with 1024 x 768 resolution, but users at 800 x 600 should still be able to view and operate the site.
This site utilizes Javascript extensively, but all content has been tested to confirm it is viewable and navigable without Javascript or CSS.
Most sections are navigable using only the keyboard. The Chronology timeline has not implemented full keyboard-only interaction, but all Chronology content is accessible via link and text entry.
Having problems?
Please report any functionality, viewability or accessibility problems to info@cdrs.columbia.edu