Re: [csswg-drafts] [css-ui-4] Change the pointer cursor to indicate any interactive element.

You give valid arguments in your post why it's **ok** to use pointer for interactive elements, but why it should be a standard for every single site and every interactive element?
I see 3 main negative side-effects of that change: 

1. Fixing problems with a cursor won't work on devices that don't have any cursor;
2. It won't encourage to redesign an element to offer a better experience;
3. Using default cursor on interactive elements would be considered a bad practice (while it might not cause any issues).

This seems to me as a 'dirty hack' to ignore actual problems caused by poor design: lack of affordance, element misuse. These issues should be addressed in the first place. Cursor is just a side-effect.

The single most common problem I encounter on almost any site is when there's a content that looks like it has a link (image, text with underline), but it actually has none, is also provided with a pointer cursor on hover, which makes you think you can copy it or open on a new page. That always leads to frustration and you implicitly encourage them to continue doing that.

With that said, I don't really mind a common cursor for every interactive element, but it should be different from the link cursor to exclude any misinterpretations. For example a hand with an arrow for links (similar to current `alias` cursor).

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Received on Saturday, 4 November 2017 18:47:33 UTC