Re: can you think of an example of 'click on' used in a grammatically incorrect way?

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>]

From: <dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com>


>
> Bonnie Granat wrote:
> > "Click" has no meaning in a GUI context unless its meaning is
> > "get ON the object."
>
> I wrote:
> > I assume you mean "click [not 'get'] ON the object," and I say
it's
> > entirely a matter of interpretation.
>
> Bonnie wrote:
> > Not if you understand the meaning of the word "click" in a GUI
> > context. It has a specialized meaning that includes the concept of
> > "on," because you cannot "click" at all unless you ARE "on."
>
> I disagree, but to show what a "big tent" kinda guy I am, I say it's
a
> question of preference.
>

"Big tent" folks don't burp horsefeathers. ; )


> Bonnie went on:
> >
> > That is, how do you click in a GUI context and accomplish anything
> > without being ON the object.
>
> I had already answered that question in my next sentence:
> > When I "click" in a GUI context, I'm clicking the left mouse
button,
> > not the pattern of pixels on the screen.  I "click on" GUI
objects.
>

Yes, that's what "click" means in an GUI context, because otherwise
the word is meaningless.


> Bonnie Granat wrote:
> > Well, of course you're not clicking pixels. You're clicking the
thing
> > that is under your mouse pointer
>
> Then why not say "click the object under your pointer"?
>
> By the way, it's not a "mouse pointer," it's just a "pointer";
otherwise,
> you're excluding people who use trackballs and touch pads.
>

You're right. Give the man two days off. ; )

> By the Way II, Return of the Snappy Comeback:  It *is* just pixels.
The
> thing under your mouse pointer is a thin layer of chemicals--there's
no
> button there.  (Run your finger over it--you'll see what I mean.)
>

Aw, shucks, David, now you've really gone and done it, haven't you?


> In answer to my statement:
> > I actually prefer the older "select" and "choose" model, but
that's
> > fallen out of style, which kind of proves my point.
>
> Bonnie wrote:
> > They are used to mean other things now; they haven't fallen out of
> > style.
>
> As another respondent noted, Microsoft currently recommends "click
OK."
> They used to recommend "Choose OK."  They changed their minds.
That's what
> I meant when I said that "click" has fallen out of style (in the
context of
> what you do to indicate your wishes when presented with a pattern of
bits
> arranged to resemble a physical button).
>

I see what you mean.


> I also wrote:
> > Of course, I'll write it any old way the client requires:  "Click
OK,"
> > "Click the OK button," "Click on the OK button," ...
>
> and Bonnie wrote:
> > Clients in general don't know what's most effective; I consider it
my
> > job to make recommendations based on current practice.
>
> Sure, but I'll write it any way they require.
>
> I'm just a consultant--they actually sign they checks.
>

You're a catalyst for clarity and excellence; you are *not* JUST
anything, and don't let me hear you say that again.

Bonnie



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