Re: question about RMB

[Jeff Waugh <jdub aphid net>]

John Gilger said something along the lines of:

> I have no problem with 'Right Menu Buttons' since if a user has set up his
> or her mouse for left handed operation, they are obviously intelligent
> enough to realize that their mouse may operate differently.
> Treating the reader like an idiot is offensive and the mark of a poor
> writer.


Having studied new users reactions to various interfaces, and seeing this in
action working at a Cybercafe a couple of years ago, otherwise "obviously
intelligent" people can have either:

a) No idea that the mouse may have two (let alone more!) buttons,

b) No understanding of those buttons having different effects (In real life,
what happens when you touch something with a different finger? There's no
metaphor or translatable action to compare this to),

or

c) Are so scared of even sitting in front of the machine, that rational
thought and experimentation is out of the question.


Understanding your present (and perhaps future) audience is the mark of a
perceptive writer. :)

- Jeff


-- jdub aphid net ----------------------------------- http://slug.org.au/ --

        Ye shall be cursed to fall in love so easily, and yet be so
                     cold of heart as never to express it.