Tacit knowledge, knowledge management, and active user participation in Web site navigation

One of the reasons that people who seek out information on Web sites may often feel powerless is that when they do not find what they are looking for, their own tacit sense of what they know is not validated. If tacit knowledge is not calculated for in the design of a Web site, it puts the people navigating the site in the position of passive observers. The primary reason for this can be found in the rigid organization schemes in place on many sites. Manuals that offer methods for designing Web site architectures could be much improved if they suggested steps to replicate what is known in knowledge management circles as an "enabling environment.".