9 Feb
2012
9 Feb
'12
4:23 a.m.
I'm busy updating the TDE handbook files. Right now I'm working on the user
guides. I'm progressing nicely. Revising text, submitting patches and new images to
the bugzilla, repairing web links, etc. Eventually I'll post the user guides for
reviews.
I'm writing notes to explain the processes used. Eventually I'll post that
information too, either at the wiki or directly in a handbook help file.
As a technical writer, for many years I have grimaced every time I read the expressions
"left mouse button," "right mouse button," "click," and
"right-click." I frown when I read the word "click" rather than
"select."
I'm not anal about language. I'm not a purist. I embrace the fact that languages
and usage evolve. Yet I strive for technical correctness because communicating ideas is
challenging. Skilled communicators say what they mean and mean what they say. :)
Those mouse related terms bother me from a technical correctness perspective. Why?
Because the terms are technically incorrect for people who use a mouse configured for
left-handed use. That is, with the mouse button roles swapped. I should know --- I have
used my mouse that way for almost two decades. I have a pretty good laugh every time
people try to use a computer desktop I have configured. Swapping the buttons of the mouse
confuses people like crazy because they never pay attention to the fact that my mouse is
on the left side of my keyboard. :)
I have wondered through the years how such lazy street language terms translate into other
languages.
The challenge most people counter is what terms to use as replacements?
The best I have conceived is "primary" and "secondary" buttons. Yet I
realize some people might find those terms confusing too.
Should we talk about people who use three button mice? In the days before scroll wheels
such mice existed --- I have one in my junk box. :) How about five button mice? Seven?
When does "left" and "right" become meaningless? Should those terms be
used at all?
I realize conventional usage often prevails but that does not mean those terms are
technically correct. :)
I'd like to hear some other thoughts and opinions about the subject.
Darrell
9 Feb
9 Feb
7:10 a.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
Should we talk about people who use three button mice?
In the days before
scroll wheels such mice existed --- I have one in my junk box. :) How
about five button mice? Seven? When does "left" and "right" become
meaningless? Should those terms be used at all?
Just to interject one comment, yes, people still use mice with three or
more buttons. Usually the scroll wheel can be pressed down to select with
the third mouse button, and gaming mice have even more buttons next to the
primary and secondary buttons.
One of the strenths of TDE is the fact that all three buttons can be used
to interact with an on-screen element, each having a separate function
bound to it. This is one of the things that I miss most when using Gnome
or a Macintosh system, and KDE4 had some of the same problems when I last
tried it.
Tim
14 Feb
14 Feb
2:15 a.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
Click and alternate-click? Primary and secondary makes sense.
Best regards,
Tiago
On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 4:23 AM, Darrell Anderson <humanreadable(a)yahoo.com>wrote;wrote:
I'm busy updating the TDE handbook files. Right
now I'm working on the
user guides. I'm progressing nicely. Revising text, submitting patches and
new images to the bugzilla, repairing web links, etc. Eventually I'll post
the user guides for reviews.
I'm writing notes to explain the processes used. Eventually I'll post that
information too, either at the wiki or directly in a handbook help file.
As a technical writer, for many years I have grimaced every time I read
the expressions "left mouse button," "right mouse button,"
"click," and
"right-click." I frown when I read the word "click" rather than
"select."
I'm not anal about language. I'm not a purist. I embrace the fact that
languages and usage evolve. Yet I strive for technical correctness because
communicating ideas is challenging. Skilled communicators say what they
mean and mean what they say. :)
Those mouse related terms bother me from a technical correctness
perspective. Why?
Because the terms are technically incorrect for people who use a mouse
configured for left-handed use. That is, with the mouse button roles
swapped. I should know --- I have used my mouse that way for almost two
decades. I have a pretty good laugh every time people try to use a computer
desktop I have configured. Swapping the buttons of the mouse confuses
people like crazy because they never pay attention to the fact that my
mouse is on the left side of my keyboard. :)
I have wondered through the years how such lazy street language terms
translate into other languages.
The challenge most people counter is what terms to use as replacements?
The best I have conceived is "primary" and "secondary" buttons. Yet
I
realize some people might find those terms confusing too.
Should we talk about people who use three button mice? In the days before
scroll wheels such mice existed --- I have one in my junk box. :) How about
five button mice? Seven? When does "left" and "right" become
meaningless?
Should those terms be used at all?
I realize conventional usage often prevails but that does not mean those
terms are technically correct. :)
I'd like to hear some other thoughts and opinions about the subject.
Darrell
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4:04 a.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
On 02/08/2012 10:23 PM, Darrell Anderson wrote:
The best I have conceived is "primary" and
"secondary" buttons. Yet I realize some people might find those terms confusing
too.
Primary and secondary work. Click, depress? 'Select' is what the mouse does to
an object, not really what you do to the mouse.. From the technical writing
standpoint it is almost useful to have an intro or synopsis at the beginning.
Something along the lines of.
The following reference will use the terms X, Y, Z to refer to the mouse buttons
which control axis-1, axis-2, ... On a typical right-hand mouse configuration
the left-button is primary, the right-button is secondary, etc..
What you will run up against are the non-technical terms frequently used in
mouse operations, i.e. click, shift-click, click & hold, click & drag,
right-click, etc.. There is just no easy off-the-shelf set of terms that
properly refer to that.
Good luck Darrell, glad you're on it :)
--
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
4:30 a.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
On 13 February 2012 23:04, David C. Rankin
<drankinatty(a)suddenlinkmail.com> wrote:
On 02/08/2012 10:23 PM, Darrell Anderson wrote:
My thoughts are this:
Primary & Secondary instead of right/left ( people have different
setups) and 3rd button as well.
Click = physical action
The best I have conceived is "primary"
and "secondary" buttons. Yet I realize some people might find those terms
confusing too.
Primary and secondary work. Click, depress? 'Select' is what the mouse does to
an object, not really what you do to the mouse.. From the technical writing
standpoint it is almost useful to have an intro or synopsis at the beginning.
Something along the lines of.
The following reference will use the terms X, Y, Z to refer to the mouse buttons
which control axis-1, axis-2, ... On a typical right-hand mouse configuration
the left-button is primary, the right-button is secondary, etc..
What you will run up against are the non-technical terms frequently used in
mouse operations, i.e. click, shift-click, click & hold, click & drag,
right-click, etc.. There is just no easy off-the-shelf set of terms that
properly refer to that.
Good luck Darrell, glad you're on it :)
--
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
5:28 a.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
On Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM, Calvin Morrison <mutantturkey(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 13 February 2012 23:04, David C. Rankin
<drankinatty(a)suddenlinkmail.com> wrote:
'Right click' sounds much shorter than 'Click the secondary button'
and easier to read. 'Secondary click' sounds weird and misguiding.
Suppose, that left-handled people get accustomed to 'right click' term
long ago.
'Click & hold' sounds weird because to me 'click' means 'press
&
release'. Most natural words: click, press (press & hold), release.
I suppose, that good communicator is the one who is understood
lightly. That in fact does not mean dictionary strictness. In fact,
people that try to restrict their words to dictionary semantic are
hard to understand. That is because human language is a lot more than
just dictionary terms. And language makes dictionaries (which means
they always will be incomplete), but not dictionaries make the
language.
On 02/08/2012 10:23 PM, Darrell Anderson wrote:
My thoughts are this:
Primary & Secondary instead of right/left ( people have different
setups) and 3rd button as well.
Click = physical action
The best I have conceived is "primary"
and "secondary" buttons. Yet I realize some people might find those terms
confusing too.
Primary and secondary work. Click, depress? 'Select' is what the mouse does to
an object, not really what you do to the mouse.. From the technical writing
standpoint it is almost useful to have an intro or synopsis at the beginning.
Something along the lines of.
The following reference will use the terms X, Y, Z to refer to the mouse buttons
which control axis-1, axis-2, ... On a typical right-hand mouse configuration
the left-button is primary, the right-button is secondary, etc..
What you will run up against are the non-technical terms frequently used in
mouse operations, i.e. click, shift-click, click & hold, click & drag,
right-click, etc.. There is just no easy off-the-shelf set of terms that
properly refer to that.
Good luck Darrell, glad you're on it :)
--
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
1:22 p.m.
New subject: [trinity-devel] Mouse buttons and terminology
On Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:28:30 +0400
Aleksey Midenkov <midenok(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM, Calvin Morrison
<mutantturkey(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Indeed. This is a case in which I think precision might get in the
way of clarity. "Primary" and "secondary" mouse buttons may be
obvious to us, but I'm not so sure about non-technical users, who
can get confused when they encounter anything unusual. The
best solution would probably be to use "select" or similar device-agnostic
terms whenever possible, the usual "right/left-click" labels when
necessary, and programmatically change the button labels in the
documentation if the user has selected a different mouse configuration;
absent the ability to switch labels on the fly, the best thing to do is
probably to insert a note about what remapped mouse buttons will
do to the instructions at the beginning of the documentation, and
proceed with the inaccurate-but-familiar labels.
On 13 February 2012 23:04, David C. Rankin
<drankinatty(a)suddenlinkmail.com> wrote:
'Right click' sounds much shorter than 'Click the secondary button'
and easier to read. 'Secondary click' sounds weird and misguiding.
Suppose, that left-handled people get accustomed to 'right click' term
long ago.
'Click & hold' sounds weird because to me 'click' means 'press
&
release'. Most natural words: click, press (press & hold), release.
I suppose, that good communicator is the one who is understood
lightly. That in fact does not mean dictionary strictness. In fact,
people that try to restrict their words to dictionary semantic are
hard to understand. That is because human language is a lot more than
just dictionary terms. And language makes dictionaries (which means
they always will be incomplete), but not dictionaries make the
language. On 02/08/2012 10:23 PM, Darrell Anderson wrote:
My thoughts are this:
Primary & Secondary instead of right/left ( people have different
setups) and 3rd button as well.
Click = physical action
The best I have conceived is "primary"
and "secondary" buttons. Yet I realize some people might find those terms
confusing too.
Primary and secondary work. Click, depress? 'Select' is what the mouse does to
an object, not really what you do to the mouse.. From the technical writing
standpoint it is almost useful to have an intro or synopsis at the beginning.
Something along the lines of.
The following reference will use the terms X, Y, Z to refer to the mouse buttons
which control axis-1, axis-2, ... On a typical right-hand mouse configuration
the left-button is primary, the right-button is secondary, etc..
What you will run up against are the non-technical terms frequently used in
mouse operations, i.e. click, shift-click, click & hold, click & drag,
right-click, etc.. There is just no easy off-the-shelf set of terms that
properly refer to that.
Good luck Darrell, glad you're on it :)
--
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
4726
days inactive
4731
days old
6 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
Aleksey Midenkov -
Calvin Morrison -
Darrell Anderson -
David C. Rankin -
E. Liddell -
Tiago Marques -
Timothy Pearson