ABOUT THE NORTHERN RIVERS PROJECT WEB - SITE,
and,
HOW TO USE IT.
and,
HOW TO USE IT.
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Firstly: The Northern Rivers Project is a private undertaking by a small but slowly growing number of local nature photography enthusiasts. It aims to bring together knowledge and images from a range of sources into one web-site specifically dedicated to all things 'Northern Rivers'. All contributions are duly acknowledged and contributors wishes regarding copyright on their submissions are at all times respected. From small beginnings it will - over time - grow into THE resource for anything you may wish to find out about this beautiful part of the world we call home.
This web-site contains 3,300+ pages as of August, 2023 and is expected to eventually reach about 4,000 or so. At this time most of these 3,300 or so pages are under the Tab: LIFE and it is important to note that not all pages will have meaningful content at any stage. To indicate whether or not a page has worthwhile content, thumbnails are used on the page that wil take you 'one level down'. If the next level down page is represented by a photo than, that page has content. If the next level down page is represented by a 'placeholder only' image, than, you need not bother. |
Probaby the most important convention used is that this web-site is optimized for viewing on a computer screen. Whereas it is quite possible to use a mobile device to navigate the site, some of it's pages do not always appear as neatly as they could. (Tablets, particularly in landscape mode, do tend to do a lot better than mobile phones.)
Various rules and conventions used in the 'LIFE' section of this web-site.
Whereas all the pages are relatively simple in structure, the sheer size and complexity of the web-site as a whole has made it necessary to set a few rules in the set-up of the site so as to make navigation easier.
LIFE and the Kingdoms.
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Just as Nature is divided into Domains which are divided into Kingdoms which are divided into Phylla which are divided into Classes which are divided into, etc, etc... , so to the 'LIFE' part of this website is divided into multiple layers. It may initially appear cumbersome to use but by 'clicking onwards' you will not only reach a very specific target, you will also have open tabs containing a flowing overview of the taxonomic relationships of the species you are interested in. If you are familiar with web-sites like 'iNaturalist' or the 'Atlas of Living Australia' you will no doubt find this web-site quite easy to use. For those who are new to it all, just go with the flow. The menu on top moves from left to right and back again as you move your cursor, each time revealing clickable lower levels until you have reached the 'dead-end' page on the menu. Alternatively you can follow the thumbnail links near the bottom of the pages to take a slower, but more informative approach to get to where you need to be.
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This is however a fairly new web-site and, as mentioned earlier, not all pages have content as yet. A 'SITEMAP' has been created on which you will find all the pages listed, complete with links to get there and some basic info on whether or not the page has, at it's current stage, content you might wish to look at.
The Northern Rivers Project is primarily intended as a catalogue or 'Wiki' site. It contains information in the form of images and text. So, if you know the name of a species and you want more information or pictures of it, you are at the right place. To look it up, simply use any of the search boxes you'll find on most higher level pages. (Note: some sections, Birds, Mammals and others, have an Index available) TNRP is not an identification tool which means that if you do not know the name of the species you have seen or, have a photo of, we recommend you use iNaturalist (preferably) or, any of the now plentiful ID apps available for use on your phone. |
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'Clicking through'. Pages that have sub-pages all have thumbnails towards the bottom. Use these to click through to the next level down. Note that in the LIFE section of the site most click through links eventually end up at a 'Family' page (the 'dead-end' page). On there you may find the genus or species you were searching for.
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'Dead-end' pages. Under 'LIFE' are not always 'Family' pages where individual species may be found. The dead-end in some instances stops short of that level either due to the obscurity of downward classifications, or, there being little to no chance of TNRP ever showing images further down the levels.
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Thumbnails. The thumbnails used on the various level pages are indeed representatives of the classification group they belong to, even though the higher in the sequence you are the less this may seem so. Once clicked, the page always opens in a new window.
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The buttons at the bottom of each page. The buttons left and right speak for themselves. 'HOME' takes you back to the HOME page and 'TOP' takes you back to the top of the you are on; in the same window, of course.
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The centre button. Will take you to the next 'same-level classification' page. i.e. kingdom to kingdom, phylum to phylum, class to class, etc... It will open in the same window.
The line(s) immediately underneath the buttons is a series of links to take you to pages related to the one your are on either in a backwards direction or taking a step sideways or one step downwards.
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Links going down the classifications open in a new window! This is obviouslly done intentionally as it allows you (on a computer screen or tablet, of course) to have a complete overview from Kingdom to Family readily accessible on the screen without the need to go backwards or forwards all the time. It does come with the trade-off that windows you no longer need will have to be closed once you are done with them.
Links going backwards or sideways open in the same window
Links going backwards or sideways open in the same window
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The INDEX. Selected sections have an INDEX that lists all species by generic name as well as by scientific name. Those species that are represented with photographs on the site are linked to the pages on which they can be found. The links in the INDEX are in R E D.
Look for the link to the INDEX just above the "On to...." button. |
External links that are found under the heading 'References and links" are always in B L U E as are the links you find in the "Footer" of each page. There are also links in the text that will take you to a page that has more info on the subject/person that has been highlighted in R E D.
Note that these links often go to Wikipedia. |
Popular sections that do not have an INDEX, will have a list of common names that can be accessed through the 'Easy Navigator' page.
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Search boxes. All pages that are not 'dead-end' pages have search boxes in the colour box towards the top of the page. Pretty much anything can be entered here and the results will be displayed. The more non-specific the query, the more results will be produced.
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There is no provision on the web-site to have search results directed to anything other than the top of a page on which the result occurs. This means that once on a family page with, possibly, lots of species. you will need to scroll down to find the one you want.
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Some 'dead end' Family pages are split into a number of parts. Those that are were obviously getting too large and unwieldy and it became necessary to split them into segments.
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Taxonomy on this website normally follows that used on the iNaturalist site. There are some exceptions to this but, they are very few and far between. Updates are made as they reach us, by whatever means.
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The SITEMAP. This page can be reached via the links at the top or, in the footer of every page. It serves a number of purposes. Firstly, as a sitemap of course, from which (eventually) every page on the site can be reached whether it has content or not. For this you can click on either the red or blue page titles. The BLUE titles will take you to a page with no content other than the title. The RED titles will take you to any page that has at least some content as either photo(s), link(s) or text. Secondly, it provides an insight into the state of the development of the various pages on this site; titles with [O] at the end link to pages that are considered complete for now; i.e. it has photos; and, even though one or more species may still be missing but, the text is done. And thirdly, it provides a taxonomic overview of life in the Northern Rivers - in most cases to family level - that follows the same format as is used on iNaturalist.
Notes on other areas of the web-site.
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Chronostratigraphic Chart. This web-site may regularly mention geological time eras. The chart used for this is available here. For the most up-to-date of the charts visit: www.stratigraphy.org/chart
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to be continued as we progress...
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