Action Item: 2.2 Proposal (Distractions)

This was another action item from Boston face-to-face.  The goal wsa
to try to make this clearer, make it a "positive" if possible, not a
"thou shalt not", explain the difference between -desired- animation
and -undesired- animation, and hopefully make it something Cynthia
doesn't hate.  Dunno if I succeeded. :)

BTW, note that I am flailing around for a good term; your thoughts on
terminology are welcome.

Action Item:  Rewrite 2.2, make cynthia like it, turn it around to a positive

2.2  Use distractive presentations only when it is necessary to capture the
      user's attention.

      <!-- note:  need a better term than "distractive presentations" -- I
      had originally written "distractive elements" but "elements" is a reserved
      word in markup and thus would be confusing to use in this context,
      perhaps -->

      <glossary>Distractive presentations</glossary> are design elements which
      interfere with the user's abilities to concentrate on a user-selected
      action, such as entering data, reading/hearing text, and so on.

      Presentation forms which cause distraction vary based on the type
      of communication employed.  Visual distraction elements are based
      upon movement, such as animation effects.  Sound distractions
      <!-- ideas for this? -->.  Multimedia presentations combine one or
      more of these techniques.

      Because distractive presentations make it harder for the user to
      perform a task, they should be used only when there is a specific
      need to capture the user's attention.  For example, <glossary>alerts
      </glossary> should use distractive techniques, and distractive
      techniques may prove useful for highlighting specific changes
      or to provide context for user input (such as an animated cursor
      indicator).

      Note:  There is no one standard to say what would be a distraction
      for any given user; people are individuals and what may be a
      major distraction to one person might be easily ignored by others.


-- 
Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
http://www.kynn.com/

Received on Monday, 12 March 2001 10:16:02 UTC