Message from discussion Private Browsing UI

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From: mcdavis...@netscape.net
Newsgroups: mozilla.dev.apps.firefox
Subject: Re: Private Browsing UI
Date: 25 May 2007 12:37:07 -0700
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On May 25, 12:15 pm, Greg Campbell <glc_b...@fastmail.com> wrote:
> Mike Beltzner wrote:
> >> Note: johnath isn't a fan of the privacy door knob icon because it
> >> looks too much like a lock.  I think we can get around this problem
> >> by changing the color and making it appear less metallic.
>
> > I'm not sure that people are going to get the door-hanger iconic
> > metaphor either, but we can experiment there, and we *do* use it for
> > "privacy" in the preferences UI ...
>
> Whoa. I thought that was a lock too. I wondered why "security" is a
> closed lock and "privacy" was a poorly-drawn open lock. Now I get it.
> But boy is that icon bad.
>
> If the door hanger is a must, probably should draw the door too. A least
> the knob.

Just to brainstorm a little ... maybe use a mask icon to convey
privacy?

Some challenges:

- Not in common use as a UI element, so the user base is not already
trained to recognize it for what it is or to associate a particular
meaning.
- Several negative connotations already established for masks (robber
mask, ski mask, hockey mask)
- Would it work, cross-culturally?
- Maybe Lone Ranger-style or Amadeus-style party mask (held on a stick
over the eyes only)
- Can it be rendered in a 16x16 or 24x24 space?

Just an idea.