[thelist] Re: checked vs. unchecked boxes

[Greg Holmes]

Steven Streight wrote:

>I sure hope we can rid the web of the "pre-selection"
>syndrome where site owners try to trick users into
>granting them permission to do things the users don't
>really want.

I don't think that anybody was advocating this ;)
I certainly wasn't.

>And how about those "pre-selected" boxes that remain
>selected even when you check what you consider the
>opposite, or the alternative? Who would want both
>HTML and Plain Text newsletters? Yet this happens
>often. HTML is pre-selected, but when you select
>Plain Text, the HTML is also still selected.

These examples, while noxious, aren't the only
uses for checkboxes.

How about this, on an ASP.net site?

Load the example in
[X] CSharp
[ ] VB
[ ] Some other language theoretically
    supported that nobody actually uses

where multiple versions can be loaded at once.

Judging from code samples I usually find, I
wouldn't be surprised if CSharp were considered
the obvious default, and would be pre-checked
in this example, though the option would
remain for benighted folks like me to see VB.

There's no evil intent here; just a default
selection that helps most folks.

Are you suggesting that it would be better 
to have this?

[ ] Don't load CSharp
[ ] Load VB
[ ] Load some other language theoretically
    supported that nobody actually uses

Or just that they all be unselected, and
the user be forced to choose?

Greg Holmes