.. default-role:: literal


About this site
===============

This page contains notes on how my website was designed and is managed, as well
as information on copyright_, `standards`_ and the site's `design
philosophy`_.

.. contents:: Contents
   :local:

.. _standards: #web-standards

Authenticated and encrypted access
----------------------------------

The site can be accessed over TLS_, but you will have to manually fetch my
certificate. Have a look at the site's `TLS documentation`_.

.. _TLS: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security
.. _TLS documentation: tls-user_en.html

Web standards
-------------

I try to follow `web standards`_ as well as I can. All my pages should be valid
XHTML 1.0 transitional, meaning that any standard-abiding browser should be
able to display them so that they look "reasonably well".

If you think some of my pages are broken with your browser, or if you have a
suggestion on standards or accessibility, by all means `contact me`_.

.. _web standards: http://www.w3.org/
.. _contact me: about_en.html#contact-information

Design Philosophy
-----------------

Navigation
##########

I have tried to make navigation on this site as simple as possible: at the
bottom of the page, there is a small "You are here" text that gives the page's
hierarchical position.

There is also a "contact" button that one can use to send me feedback.

Content types
#############

Most pages are available in HTML, printable HTML, plain text, or PDF. 

Printable HTML
++++++++++++++

The printable HTML version is the same as the HTML one, but without fancy
footers and headers, and optimized for printing.

Plain text
++++++++++

The plain text version was used to generate the HTML one. It can be useful if
you want to see the source or if your browser cannot render the page correctly.

PDF
+++

The PDF version is useful if you want to print and read the webpage's content
offline. It is generated using LateX_

.. _LateX: http://www.latex-project.org/

Look and feel
#############

The site's design is intentionally minimalistic. Black text on a white
background without any fancy design elements is the rule.

I consider my webpage as a mean to convey information, not entertainement. It
seems to me text is one of the best way to transfer information, whereas images
and other multimedia content should be used sparsely and only as illustration.

The minimalistic design has another advantage: it makes the pages weight very
little and hence load very fast !

Copyright
---------

Most of the content of my website is in the public domain. Have a look at `the
copyright page`_ for the details and exceptions. 

.. _the copyright page: copyright_en.html