Timwi wrote:
Daniel P.B.Smith wrote:
Just what part of "edit this page" doesn't he understand? :-)
It is not obvious to people who are unfamiliar with the system that they can actually edit the page. When they see the "Edit this link" page, the message it brings across goes contrary to what they firmly believe in (namely, that nobody can edit the page just like that) and so they subconsciously filter it out. Even if they consciously think about it, they probably come to the conclusion that clicking on the link will definitely bring up a password prompt or similar.
Other possible expectations include: 1) being required to disclose personal information before editing, and 2) being subjected to advertising before reaching the screen on which you can edit.
Another expectation they may have is that editing is more complex than it really is. I would guess that many people who know they can edit, but never actually try, have a mistaken impression that editing would require technical knowledge which they lack. For example, the average internet user probably "knows" that web pages are written in HTML, but doesn't know HTML personally. Naturally enough, this person assumes that editing our pages requires knowledge of HTML, and considers themselves unable to edit without ever trying. Or if they do try, they're intimidated by the sight of any markup at all. As a generally computer-savvy crowd, we may forget that even our relatively simple system can look challenging to someone who never leaves the familiar confines of their word-processing program.
--Michael Snow