Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!bellcore!MEMPHIS.wif.ctt.bellcore.com!ctt!hammy From: hammy@ctt.bellcore.com Newsgroups: comp.human-factors Subject: Thing Icon Message-ID: <1991Jun19.162618.0807@MEMPHIS.wif.ctt.bellcore.com> Date: 19 Jun 91 20:19:27 GMT Sender: Server@MEMPHIS.wif.ctt.bellcore.com (The System Server) Reply-To: hammy@ctt.bellcore.com Organization: Bellcore - WIF {WIF Is Functional} Lines: 24 X-Gateway: MEMPHIS.wif.ctt.bellcore.com To: news-post@ctt.bellcore.com newsgroups: comp.human-factors Well, if I had to come up with such an icon, it would be a box (showing fold lines on the sides, to make clear it is intended to be a container and not just an abstract entity), open at the top, with a question mark coming out. Of course, that depends on people recognizing the question mark character as representing an unknown. Also, of course, what I have just described could represent "gift", "package", or any number of other "things". Actually, I would expect that if you examined your application somewhat more carefully, you would realize that there are constraints imposed on the nature of "thing" by the application - I very much doubt that you really have a completely unconstrained choice here. If you do, then maybe, as someone else suggested, the word "thing" would be better. John. _____ John G. Smith email : hammy@ctt.bellcore.com RRC 1H-213 phone : (201) 699-4530