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Timwi wrote:
Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason wrote:
On 10/31/05, Timwi <timwi(a)gmx.net> wrote:
[...]. Maybe "click 'Save'"
would be best.
Please don't ever tell people to click something in MediaWiki
messages, not everybody browses with a mousepointer, say something
like "follow the link" or "submit the form" etc.
I used to think that way too, but I've come to realise that people who
don't use the mouse usually still understand what is meant by "click the
button", while the people who *do* use mouse pointers - presumably on
the order of 99% of people - wouldn't understand any other phrasing as
clearly. Note that the word "click" doesn't actually imply a mouse; when
you press Enter or Right-Arrow in lynx, you could just as well refer to
that as "clicking a link".
So why doesn't lynx refer to it as "clicking"? Well, I think the main
reason this opposition to the terminology "click" has developed, is that
the people who use the keyboard by choice (rather than due to
disability) tend to think of themselves as more competent computer
users, and therefore tend to regard the mouse users as inferior. As a
result, the suggestion to "click" something feels subtly condescending
to them, so they get offended at it. I find this pattern of behaviour
quite anti-social, so I don't want to reinforce it.
Ever heard people talking about websites on radio or TV saying "click
onto
www.asdf.com"? GARGH! HOW DO YOU CLICK SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE
CONTEXT OF IT BEING A HYPERLINK ON A PAGE???????????????
(Sorry, grammar is a pet peeve of mine...)
An interesting note to this discussion: the javascript method for
submitting a form is .submit(); the method for submitting any other
input button (regardless of it's actual behaviour) is .click() - so it
would seem that "convention" dictates that no matter what the actual
method, a button must be "clicked".
(Here's an idea: have a "popup" that asks IP editors "Are you sure you
want to submit this edit? Your IP will be recorded in accordance with
our privacy policy" whenever they submit the edit form. It would slow
vandals down a bit...)
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