Re: On Prompt/Notify/Advise/Alert

At 07:38 PM 2000-08-27 -0400, Ian Jacobs wrote:
>Hello,
>
>Checkpoint 3.8 in the 18 August Guidelines [1] includes the
>sentence "Advise the user to refresh content according to 
>the same schedule as the automatic refresh, and indicate 
>when the user has not yet refreshed content." The
>term "prompt" appears in checkpoints 9.2 and 1.5. The terms
>"alert" and "notification" are used in checkpoint 1.5.
>
>I propose the following:
>
>1) That we only use the term "notify" in the checkpoints and
>   that we define it to mean "inform the user through the user
>   interface". Note that I do not talk about APIs here. That
>   is a separate requirement (that messages through the UI also
>   be available through an API).

AG::

It is not clear that such a change would be an improvement.  

'Prompt' is used to good effect in 9.2.  Substituting 'notify' here would,
in all probability, decrease the likelihood that readers understand this
point.  The language in 9.2 is clear and says the right thing as of the 18
August Draft.  

If we wish to reduce the variety of terms used in this area, then in 3.8
replace the phrase

"indicate when the user has not yet refreshed content."

with

"notify when new content is available, based on the automatic update
schedule."

But, in guideline 1.5 it helps to use a variety of terms because the reader
may only recognize one of these as describing their case, but the rule
applies to a broader category than is indicated by any single term in
common use.

Al

Received on Monday, 28 August 2000 10:59:19 UTC