[thelist] clear form code

[Matt Warden]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


Luther, Ron wrote:
> True.  It's not 'future proof'.  But is it 'today proof'?
> Are there any user agents of any note, 'in the wild', that don't do this
> today?

The specification suggests so, but the question is irrelevant.

> Okay.  I'll bite.  What's an easier, standards compliant way to handle
> this without 
> violating any user requirements?  [e.g. User must be forced to select.
> No default. 
> No multi-select.]
> 
> - checkboxes would be a bigger coding hack

Yeah, checkboxes aren't the answer.

> - drop-down control without default runs into the same code effort as
> radio buttons

You're right. But why the heck would you not give a default? The default
should be the empty option. Problem solved. This is the appropriate
control for the situation you are describing 99% of the time. And for
the other 1%, it's something other than misusing radio buttons with
unexpected results.

> Now, unless your wife & kids & pets & star wars action figures
> think living in a cardboard box under a bridge would be a
> really really cool adventure -- you're going to find a solution
> that makes the client happy.

Like I said in a previous email, your misuse of radio buttons won't do
that. You would be forced to use a hack with a hidden radio button.

> If you're putting up a 'Hot or Not' page, radio buttons seem an
> intuitive UI choice, 
> but a default "no decision made" selection really kind of ruins the
> whole vibe.

I would default to the middle (e.g. 5 on a scale of 1-10) if you're
going for relative ratings amongst a sample, but that's a choice you'd
have to make when developing. You could also label one of the choices
"skip", as a user probably shouldn't be forced to rate a particular
picture. Again, though, it's a decision the developer should make.

I'm not really sure why we're still discussing this. The specification
is clear, and it really doesn't matter whether there are user agents out
there today in sufficient use that will default to selecting the first
radio button. The specification strongly suggests there are, but I would
never charge a client to do such research when I could simply use an
appropriate form control.

Thanks,

- --
Matt Warden
Miami University
Oxford, OH, USA
http://mattwarden.com


This email proudly and graciously contributes to entropy.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFEHzhQrI3LObhzHRMRAla5AJ4gtM38zrE835LaOadkUuD/JfR/uQCdERU1
Og/PPLd17LQzruAypP4Soz0=
=ILg5
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----