I'm mimicking an application that exists already, written in Perl/Tk. That application does this behavior. In addition, this application is used solely for internal purposes.

Plus, Yahoo and Netscape already use the behavior I'm describing. *shrugs* I'm not breaking new ground.

I agree, your soapbox position may be in accordance with the purist's view on how HTML SHOULD be used. However, the behaviour of dropdown menus to take the person to the page when they choose it has now become pretty much a standard across the web. And pause to think about it for a minute or two - the average person would take that behavious to be logical - they select the option they want, so why should they have to then click on a button? One action rather than two.

Because you can't make all drop-downs work that way, and the user shouldn't have to guess how it works. For example, when filling out your address, the STATE may be a drop-down. Or for setting scope for a search. The search won't happen until you click the button.

Now if there's a message that says something like "choose a destination" (or whatever), then fine. Or if it's an intRAnet, make your own rules. But if someone's not paying attention and the page changes and they don't realize it, it's trouble.

I've even run into this when I move the wheel on my mouse when I happen to be in one of these "touchy" selects. The page goes crazy :)

Tastes vary.