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For the TECHWR-L folks, my claim to relevance is that this is a testimonial
regarding a poorly designed user interface. I wanted to use a bus station
locker yesterday, and discovered they no longer used keys. Instead, you
close the locker, get a ticket with an access number on it, then enter that
number on a keypad later to reopen the locker.
All of that was clear enough, but there was one point that was not clear.
There were many lockers and only two keypads. The instructions said nothing
about which keypads went with which lockers. I'm guessing that if you
entered the correct access code on any keypad, it would open the right
locker, but I was afraid to assume that -- especially since one of the
keypads had a big number 4 below it. Did that refer to locker number Four,
or to a bank of lockers numbered Four, or what?
I ended up lugging my stuff around with me all day, because I was afraid I
wouldn't be able to open the locker. Oh yes, and I accidentally rendered
one empty locker inaccessible before I read in the instructions that closing
the door causes it to lock. Maybe they should have a caution on the locker
door itself?
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