Sat, 8 Oct 2005 23:46:46 -0700
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On Oct 5, 2005, at 4:02 AM, Tania Lang wrote:
> I vent in the vain hope that others will be convinced of the need
> to get rid of Reset buttons. This probably should be in a blog
> somewhere but I am hoping people will read this and make them think
> (if you still believe in Reset buttons).
Great discussion on Reset buttons - brings two questions and one
thought to mind for me.
The questions:
1. Although I agree they are generally useless, for some tasks on web-
based apps, the reset button may actually be useful for specific
activities. In those cases, is the problem in how those sorts of
buttons are handled? Was/is the problem really where the button is
placed? the proximity to a "higher value" button?
2. Why do we have this problem to contend with in the first place?
If I recollect, "RESET" buttons came into this world because they
could - some developer discovered s/he COULD get a form to do this
on the web early on and thought it was neat -technology-wise. It
probably was at the time - html, etc was pretty rudimentary in the
early 90s. Very few folks were looking at the impact to the user at
the time. Seem the web just inherited an affordance that was low-
value to begin with.
The thought:
In some cases, emerging methods and technologies provide tools and
paradigms that we can use to help the user. In other cases, we end up
with "ooh, look what I can make this do!" developer tricks. Part of
what drives good developers is a sense of constant discovery and an
opportunity to showcase their skill. The really good ones "get" that
this should be useful for the user, but that is the good ones.
So, the bigger issue this brings up for me is how we work with our
developer-type colleagues. What can we do to try to ensure that the
future conventions we create today don't leave us having the same
sort of conversation ten years hence.
Just a thought-
marilyn tahl
LOOKATIVE | user-oriented design and consulting
"Empathy is not just about stepping into another's shoes. First you
must remove your own shoes." - Indian proverb
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