In nearly 21 years of existence, Low End Mac has been through a lot of changes. We originally had a very flat structure – files in the root level and one level down with folders for compact Macs, Mac II series, and LC series. And that structure kept getting broader and broader as we added new product lines and new columnists.

Around 2001 we started adding a third level of organization, folder 01 would hold articles published by a specific writer in 2001, and so on. That continued until about 2011 or so.

To keep the structure from getting entirely too broad, in 2007 I created a new directory in the root directory called “ed” for editorials. Well, for new writers. The old ones stayed within the existing structure.

An in 2013, we started using WordPress, which doesn’t require the same kind of hierarchical structure we had been using. The structure is more of an organizing principle than something fixed. And it’s been expanded to cover more than just Mac content.

Almost all content will belong to a single main level and a single sub-level (WordPress calls them categories), but sometimes two or more are appropriate, and sometimes there’s even a sub-sub-level such as Tech Specs -> iMac -> iMac G3.

The Main Level

The main level had headings for Low End Mac, Low End PC, Low End Android, Low End Audio, Low End Cars, Low End Chrome, Low End Gaming, Low End Living, Low End Mobile, Low End Photography, Low End TV.

Additionally 8-bit Computing, Amiga, Apple II, April Fools (we did some great gags for 3 years running), Atari, Commodore, Deals (defunct), Digigraphica (a digital photography site that never took off), Future Tech, Groups (Facebook and email), 56k Modems (no longer updated), Palm OS, Recommendations, Reviews, Rodney O. Lain Archive, Tech History, Tech News (not currently used), Tech Specs, Texas Instruments, TRS-80, and Web Design.

Tech Specs is on the main level to keep things from getting too deep.

The Next Level

Under the Low End Mac heading are subheadings for different types of content, most of it specific to a certain columnist.

• ‘Book Value, mostly written by Charles W. Moore
• 10 Forward, articles on moving from the Classic Mac OS to Mac OS X
• 75 Mac Advantage, a look back and an update by Jeff Adkins
• Adams Apple by Adam Rosen
• Apple Archive by Adam Robert Guha
• Apple Before the Mac, a look back at the Apple II, III, and Lisa
• Apple Everywhere by Austin Leeds
• Apple History
• Apple, Tech, and Gaming by Dan Bashur
• Back & Forth by Jonathan Ploudre
• Benchmarks
• Best Tools for the Job, staff shares about the hardware each uses
• Building Bridges by Chris Carson
• Charles W. Moore’s Mailbag
• Classic Mac Nostalgia by Andrew Conachey
• Classic Mac OS Software
• Classic Restorations by Tyler Sable
• Collection Spotlight by Leo Titus LeBron V
• Compleat Guides
• Cortland, editorials by a writer who asked that his name be removed
• Different Branches by Seb Payne
• Digital Fossils by Tamara Keel
• Down But Not Out, articles by Dirk Pilat during his time in Australia
• Early Mac Clones
• Edelweiss by Sebastian Patting
• Embracing Obsolescence by Nathan Thompson
• Empowered by Hardy Menagh, a focus on (dis)abilities
• Hacking Your Mac, hacks from various sources
• iBasics by Michel Munger
• iBasics Classic by Michel Munger
• iMac Channel, which started as a separate subsite of MacTimes
• Interviews
• iOS & iDevices by Simon Royal
• iOS Accessories
• iOS Apps by Simon Royal
• iOS Hardware by Simon Royal
• Kitchens Sync by Kev Kitchens
• Linux to Mac, all but 1 by Keith Winston
• Low End Mac FAQs
• Low End Mac Mailbag
• Low End Mac Round Table staff discussions
• Low End Mac Tech Journal
• Mac Accessories, various writers
• Mac CPU Upgrades, pre-Intel upgrades for 680×0 and PPC Macs
• Mac Daniel, upgrade advice by staff
• Mac Fallout Shelter by Joe Rivera
• Mac Gaming, various writers
• Mac Happens by Evan Kleiman
• Mac History, various
• Mac Lab Report by Jeffery Adkins
• Mac Life by Jason Walsh
• Mac Metamorphosis by Eric DeStefano
• Mac Musings by Daniel Knight
• Mac OS X Software, various
• Mac Scope by Stephen Van Esch
• Mac to Windows by Alan Zisman
• Mac UK, Dirk Pilat in the UK
• Mac USB & FireWire, which started as Mac USB
• MacInSchool, various
• Macinthoughts by Michel Munger
• MacPaint and Its Children by Manuel Mejia
• Matt’s Macs by Matthew Urban
• Maximize Your Mac by Jason Schrader
• Memory Upgrade Options
• Menagerie of Macs, articles from the e-zine
• Miscellaneous Ramblings by Charles W. Moore
• My First Mac, users share their first Mac stories
• My Turn, readers share their thoughts on anything Mac
• Older G4 Macs in the Age of Leopard
• One More Thing by Steve Jobs – er, Trevor Wale
• Overclocking Your Vintage Mac
• Plays Well with Others by Leaman Crews
• PPC Linux, various
• Printer Reviews
• Reality Check by Daniel Knight. If it sounds too good to be true…
• Recycled Computing by John Hatchett
• Second Class Macs and Road Apples
• SETI on Mac, defunct
• Software FAQs
• Stop the Noiz by Frank Fox
• Taking Back the Market by Tim Nash
• Tangerine Fusion by Paulo Rodrigues
• Tech Spectrum by Simon Royal
• Tech Stuff, various
• The Efficient Mac User
• The Lite Side, humor, various
• The Low End Designer by Jason Walsh
• The Mac Pack Rat by Andre DeLisle
• The Mobile Mac by Andrew Fishkin
• The Odyssey by Chris Carson
• The Power of Mac by Eric Schwarz
• The Practical Mac by Steve Watkins
• The Productive Mac by Thomas Ahart
• The Review Vault by Tommy Thomas
• The Rumor Mill by the aptly named Anne Onymus
• The Value Equation by Daniel Knight
• Things Macintosh by Rodney O. Lain
• Triassic Mac by Manuel Mejia
• Using WordPress
• View From the Classroom by Steve Wood
• Vintage Mac Living by Ted Hodges
• Vintage Mac Workhorses by Adam Rosen
• Welcome to Macintosh by Tommy Thomas
• Working with Vintage Macs by Adam Rosen
• Zis Mac by Alan Zisman

We’ll just ignore the sections and subsections for the specs of various Apple products and Mac clones.

Anyhow, it is possible for an article to fit under more than a single top level category, and for the most part the sub-categories of Low End Mac are written by a single individual – but there are exceptions, and many of those section titles haven’t been used in years and so are available for recycling.

Having a section name helps tie your articles together and helps readers develop a sense of what you’re going to cover, at least in a general sense.

It’s trivial to create new sections and subsections, but there should be a good reason for it. We have so many already!

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