RE: symbolize roles

[mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com]

Ed Wurster [mailto:glassnet -at- gmail -dot- com]
> I meant to post this link:
> 
> http://www.ce-mag.com/archive/02/03/peckham.html
> 
> I would use the examples for my design model, and change various
> details so that the result is not confusing to the reader.
> 
> A decent graphic artist can kick out 6 variations for you.
> 
> I would concentrate on the outline, or monotone first. It sounds like
> you would attach the three graphics (colorless) to a page. When the
> procedure applies, "light up" the appropriate graphic, with color.

Well thanks, but those are variants of warning symbols.
The piece that's missing is precisely the piece that I 
was asking about -- what you call "various details".

I know that I can put any kind of picture at all inside 
a caution triangle, a "don't do this" barred circle, 
a blue or green "do this circle".

But:

a) I'm not telling anyone, symbolically or not, to do 
 something or to avoid doing something (I have symbols 
 for Note, Caution and Warning that appear next to text 
 that warrants them... that's a light-years-separate issue)
 There's no hazard associated with the roles, per se. 
 It's merely that, if you can login only as operator, then 
 some of the text on certain Help pages is not going to 
 be of any use to you (though it would to someone who could 
 login as admin). If you can login only as monitor, then 
 most of the text on certain pages is going to be of little 
 use to you, since you can't even see (let alone invoke) 
 the described commands when you use the interface.

b) it's the what's-inside-the-outline that's in question.

What's a symbol that either a lot of people would recognize 
as "system operator", or could readily be taught that meaning 
without conflict with some other usage?

What's a symbol (or an outline for symbols) that either a 
lot of people would recognize as "system admin", or could 
readily be taught that meaning without conflict with some 
other usage? And which would be easily distinguishable from 
the symbol for "system operator"?

Same question for "system monitor".

OR... if those terms are too specific, 
What's a symbol that represents "highest local authority", 
and is commonly used with what other symbol to represent 
"regular grunt labor", and in turn could be (or is) used 
near what symbol to represent "empowered to look and warn, 
but not to make changes".  (Hmm. Crossing guard?  :-)

Gee, it's almost like the UNIX file permissions RWX 
(Read, Write, Execute), although they'd be in an 
order more like WXR (highest to lowest)...  but those are 
not symbolic, even if they do convey the flavor to readers 
who happen to be knowledgeable.

Kevin

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