Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!uvm-gen!emerson
From: emerson@uvm-gen.UUCP (Tree,,,)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: The "infamous" OK button
Message-ID: <1630@uvm-gen.UUCP>
Date: 30 Aug 90 18:41:53 GMT
References: <2093@krafla.rhi.hi.is>
Sender: news@uvm-gen.UUCP
Organization: EMBA Computer Facility, Univ. of Vermont, Burlington.
Lines: 47

From article <2093@krafla.rhi.hi.is>, by aries@rhi.hi.is (Reynir Hugason):
> 
> Hi don't take this too seriously but,
Ok, I won't. 8-)

> here's a deep question for Apple's "Emotional Engineers" :-)
I'm not one, but I'll give it a shot.

> Why on heaven and earth does there always have to be a blasted OK button in
> every error dialog. What precisly is so very much "OK" about: "Your hard-disk
> is full (OK), or "This disk is damaged; consequently, unusable (OK)," both of
> which are quite definatly not OK! Unless this "OK" is some defused version of
> the original word, meaning acknowledged or something like that. Wouldn't it
> be better to (a) include a button with some very "heavy" swearing, or
> (b) include two buttons one which says "OK" and another which says "NOT OK"
> both of which accomplish the same thing (just to make a point :-)).

The OK is used to tell the application (or system, or whatever) that
you have seen the dialog and you acknowledge that it was there.  Now, a
recent Human Interface Note (Number 10, I think, tho I'm not positive) states
that if at all possible, the "OK" button (or accept button, if you prefer) be
named in a way that makes sense to the dialog.  So, in your case, something
like:

	+--------------------------------------------------------+
	| Spiffy      Your hard-disk is full, so you can't save  |
	|  Icon       the 100 page report/program/whatever you   |
	|             have been working on for the last 8 hours. |
	|                                                        |
	|                                        ( OH SH*T )     |
	+--------------------------------------------------------+

Might be acceptable.  I suppose it is up to the individual designer of the
application.

> Mimir (aries@rhi.hi.is)
> /// Never put of till to-morrow the fun you can have to-day.
>                                        - Huxley's BNWian motto.

Tom

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The three most dangerous things in the   |                           |
| world are a programmer with a soldering  | Tom Emerson               |
| iron, a hardware guy with a software     | emerson@griffin.uvm.edu   |
| patch, and a user with an idea.          |                           |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+