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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