I'm not sure why I never noticed this before (and/or why i noticed it today) but the voting radio buttons are displayed with the "psitive" vote option is displayed on the left of the "negative" vote option.
Am I the only one who (now, after using PM for over a year without ever noticing before) finds this odd?
Is it euro-centric of me to think it would make more sense if the negative vote option was on the left of the positive vote option?
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Re: ++ < --
by seattlejohn (Deacon) on Dec 21, 2002 at 07:17 UTC
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I think about this in a different way that leads me to believe that the ++ < -- organization makes perfect sense. Namely, ++ votes are much more common than -- votes. Thus it makes sense to have ++ appear at the beginning of the voting-buttons list rather than at the end. (It does make me wonder if I'd want the buttons in reverse order if I were reading right to left.)
I suppose you could also ask why the English expression is "plus-or-minus x" rather than "minus-or-plus x". Negative-precedes-positive may correspond to the way we visualize a number line, but I simply don't think it maps to our day-to-day expectations in a case like this. The fact that you used it for a year without noticing is another sign, imho.
$perlmonks{seattlejohn} = 'John Clyman'; | [reply] |
Re: ++ < --
by tachyon (Chancellor) on Dec 21, 2002 at 06:20 UTC
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O -- O +=0 O ++
# or in vertical format
O ++
O +=0
O --
cheers
tachyon
s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print
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[d/l] |
(wil) Re: ++ < --
by wil (Priest) on Dec 21, 2002 at 16:46 UTC
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How about alternating the order of the radio buttons at random to get people think for a second longer before automagically going for the ++ option.
Or maybe do as those dodgy shareware software or whacky javascript sites and have the radio buttons move randomly across the page where you can never click on them.
evil++
- wil | [reply] |
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Re: ++ < --
by Callum (Chaplain) on Dec 21, 2002 at 10:30 UTC
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I found it awkward at first that they were this way round, partly for the positive-x reason you give, and partly because I'm right-handed so although visually I scan the line left-right I control the pointer with a mouse that sits significantly to the right of my eye-screen line, so when moving the pointer I essentially have to pass over the -- to get to the ++
I made a couple of voting mistakes early on because of not paying sufficient attention to which vote I was selecting. | [reply] |
Re: ++ < --
by theorbtwo (Prior) on Dec 22, 2002 at 04:08 UTC
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Generaly, the rule is that the positive option goes in the "more distingshed" position. Whether this is the top, bottom, left, or right mostly depends on who you ask and what the context is. I think, less generaly, when you're in a pick list, like ±, or on PM, the positive options should be first. On a number line, or a plane, the posive options should be in the positive direction of the axis (duh), which by convention is up, or to the right. This is from the european tradition (though I don't know of anywhere it isn't true) that left-handedness is evil... thus "right" meaning both "not left" and "not wrong". The left side signifies the devil and evil, because it isn't normal. Ain't history great?
Anyway, on a pick-list, the best option should be first. On a number line, positive goes to the right.
Warning: Unless otherwise stated, code is untested. Do not use without understanding. Code is posted in the hopes it is useful, but without warranty. All copyrights are relinquished into the public domain unless otherwise stated. I am not an angel. I am capable of error, and err on a fairly regular basis. If I made a mistake, please let me know (such as by replying to this node).
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Re: ++ < --
by mt2k (Hermit) on Dec 22, 2002 at 19:35 UTC
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For me, the positive vote being on the left makes perfect sense. We as people read from left to right, so the first option available to us in reading format is the positive vote. As said, this is the vote that is generally offered, as opposed to the negative vote.
As for randomly switching the radio buttons around... no. This would just lead to confusion, some incorrect votes, and would just annoy me. I've already decided what I'm voting, I don't need to spend the time searching for the right option!
If people honestly have a problem with the ordering of the buttons, perhaps another option on User Settings? lol
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eval reverse@{[lreP
=>q{ tsuJ\{qq},' rehtonA'
,q{\}rekcaH },' tnirp']}[1+1+
1,1-1,1+1,1*1,(1+1)*(1+1)];
-------------------------------------
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