Gnomes [Was Re: [Usability] Some interesting user feedback]



On Fri, 2003-11-14 at 17:23, Telsa Gwynne wrote:
> I'm sorry to post such a silly message. Not sorry enough to hit
> 'cancel', though. This just has to be said...
> 
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2003 at 05:11:01PM +0000 or thereabouts, Andrew Sobala wrote:
> > Another alternative:
> > 
> > The "$APPNAME" application has crashed. If you tell us about this crash,
> > you will be helping us improve our software."
> > 
> > [ Exit application ] [ Report the crash]
> > 
> > Unfortunately, this and Luis' suggestions have this inexplicable "us" in
> > the dialog. Who is us? The little green men inside the computer making
> > it go?
> 
> You don't know? 
> 
> Years ago, we borrowed "the Unix manual" from a friend who had
> printed out every last page of it. I forget which Unix version
> it was, but I shall never forget the footnote which explained
> why there was a limit to the keyboard buffer. 
> 
> It said there was a little gnome which collected the letters
> you typed in at the keyboard and took them to (erm, not sure here) 
> the computer or the kernel or something. And that the gnome
> could only carry a certain number of letters in its hands at
> once, and would drop any extra on the floor.
> 
> So it's not little green men. It's gnomes. I thought anyone
> using this desktop would know that.

Oh, I'm sorry. I've been misinformed.

When I was about 9 my teacher told us that electricity was little green
men running round the wires with energy packs on their backs. They get
tired when they run up the hill in a resistor, they let out the energy
when they go through a light bulb, and so on.

I didn't fully believe him at the time, but now I know it's gnomes it
all makes sense.

Cheers,

-- 
Andrew Sobala <as583 cam ac uk>

Given by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede, between
Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June in the seventeenth
year of our reign.

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