Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

OT: Curious UI dialog booboo

2 views
Skip to first unread message

tlvp

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 12:07:29 AM12/15/14
to
While I was downloading a map recently in an Open Street Maps application,
the software, thinking it had run into a possible snag, offered to

> Cancel map download?

giving as options [OK] (which, I guess, approves canceling the download)
and [Cancel] (which ... what? also cancels the download? or cancels the
*offer* to cancel the download?) -- I guess we can all just smile sagely,
knowing *we* would never design anything so confusingly :-) .

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

dorayme

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 12:49:10 AM12/15/14
to
In article <1dja5m3ot041k.c...@40tude.net>,
tlvp <mPiOsUcB...@att.net> wrote:

> While I was downloading a map recently in an Open Street Maps application,
> the software, thinking it had run into a possible snag, offered to
>
> > Cancel map download?
>
> giving as options [OK] (which, I guess, approves canceling the download)
> and [Cancel] (which ... what? also cancels the download? or cancels the
> *offer* to cancel the download?)

The option of cancel means fuhgeddaboud cancelling the map download,
ok means go ahead and cancel the download. Trust me, I am on the other
side of the world to you.

--
dorayme

tlvp

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 1:04:22 AM12/15/14
to
Does that mean that, on *my* side of the world, the [Cancel] option means,
"Yes, I agree, cancel the map download" while the [OK] option means "No,
no, don't cancel the map download, I'm OK with downloading that map" :-) ?

"Puzzled in Peoria", -- tlvp

dorayme

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 2:35:26 AM12/15/14
to
In article <y7wlseq96emf$.qujn17gyrmew$.d...@40tude.net>,
tlvp <mPiOsUcB...@att.net> wrote:

> >> While I was downloading a map recently in an Open Street Maps application,
> >> the software, thinking it had run into a possible snag, offered to
> >>
> >>> Cancel map download?
> >>
> >> giving as options [OK] (which, I guess, approves canceling the download)
> >> and [Cancel] (which ... what? also cancels the download? or cancels the
> >> *offer* to cancel the download?)
> >
> > The option of cancel means fuhgeddaboud cancelling the map download,
> > ok means go ahead and cancel the download. Trust me, I am on the other
> > side of the world to you.
>
> Does that mean that, on *my* side of the world,

No.

--
dorayme

Hans-Georg Michna

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 5:41:57 AM12/15/14
to
On Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:49:06 +1100, dorayme wrote:

You are certainly correct, but you have to admit that it is an
outrageous example of poor user interface design when applied to
non-programmers.

Hans-Georg

dorayme

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 6:16:19 AM12/15/14
to
In article <1met8alrle6l186g3...@4ax.com>,
Hans-Georg Michna <hans-georgN...@michna.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:49:06 +1100, dorayme wrote:
>
> >In article <1dja5m3ot041k.c...@40tude.net>,
>
> > tlvp <mPiOsUcB...@att.net> wrote:
>
> >> While I was downloading a map recently in an Open Street Maps application,
> >> the software, thinking it had run into a possible snag, offered to
>
> >> > Cancel map download?
>
> >> giving as options [OK] (which, I guess, approves canceling the download)
> >> and [Cancel] (which ... what? also cancels the download? or cancels the
> >> *offer* to cancel the download?)
>
> >The option of cancel means [forget] cancelling the map download,
> >ok means go ahead and cancel the download.
>
> You are certainly correct, but you have to admit that it is an
> outrageous example of poor user interface design when applied to
> non-programmers.
>

Well, I guess it's not good, but it has a lot of competition for
outrageousness in bad interface design. <g>

--
dorayme

Barry Margolin

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 10:53:13 AM12/15/14
to
In article <1met8alrle6l186g3...@4ax.com>,
Hans-Georg Michna <hans-georgN...@michna.com> wrote:

Yeah. It comes from using the Javascript confirm() function. This is a
common way to pop up a yes/no question, but the buttons are OK/Cancel
rather than Yes/No. It doesn't provide any way to change the button
labels.

--
Barry Margolin, bar...@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

Christoph M. Becker

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 11:10:23 AM12/15/14
to
The comp.lang.javascript FAQ has a respective entry:
<http://pointedears.de/scripts/faq/cljs/#changeBrowserDialog>.

--
Christoph M. Becker

John W Kennedy

unread,
Dec 15, 2014, 11:34:20 AM12/15/14
to
In every context, on every system I know of, [Cancel] on a pop-up
means, "Cancel the action that immediately caused this pop-up," so
[Cancel] in this case means, "Cancel the cancelation." The Apple Human
Interface book remarks that [Cancel] means "Forget I mentioned it."

In modern Apple use, there should not be an [OK] button. Instead, it
should say something like [Stop Download].

--
John W Kennedy
"The pathetic hope that the White House will turn a Caligula into a
Marcus Aurelius is as naīve as the fear that ultimate power inevitably
corrupts."
-- James D. Barber (1930-2004)


0 new messages