I WAS recently "flamed" for an unsuccessful navigation of the City of York website. I had failed to understand the significance of the category "yortime."

However, it seems I was not alone in my ignorance. I quizzed a number of our most respectable citizens, including one of our web-wise and wonderful librarians and a council notable. No one knew, or could guess, what "yortime" might mean.

The trouble lies with website "designers", as they like to style themselves, who favour snazzy abbreviations for categories for geeks, but mean nothing to anyone else.

Cyber-jabber is even seeping into real-speak. Take for example "Tate Modern". Word of mouth and notoriety inform us that it has nothing to do with our fragrant sugar beet factory. Otherwise, we would be stumped. Compare this with "The Yale Centre for British Art." Even if you have never heard of it before, you know exactly what it is and where it is.

I could easily suggest a seven-character replacement for "yortime" which would be precise and immediately comprehensible to all. I forebear, and challenge readers to do better. They might try e-mailing our chiefex at yorguild or failing that, his yorsec.

William Dixon Smith,

Welland Rise,

Acomb, York.

Updated: 08:42 Wednesday, December 08, 2004