[thelist] User perception

[M. Seyon]

Message from Sarah Sweeney (11/15/2004 10:45 AM)
>>Now, is this always so? Is it impossible to make it so that everyone
>>follows and read instructions? The bulk of the users seem to get
>>everything just fine, but there are exceptions.
>
>I have the same problem. I maintain a site with a CMS. Several people have 
>accounts as "content managers" and for the most part have no problems 
>logging in, except for an apparent blindness when it comes to the 
>"password reminder" link. Other people can add/edit content by "logging 
>in" as guests, then submitting content for approval. I get emails on an 
>almost daily basis for people saying the system told them they don't have 
>an account; this message goes on to say that they can "login" as a guest, 
>and yet this part of the message is constantly ignored. I have half a mind 
>to use the <blink> tag to make sure people notice the instructions. 
>Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that there is no fool-proof (pun intended) 
>way to fix this problem :(

In most systems "guest" access is severely limited, at least in my 
experience. It usually means you're able to browse or view the content, 
occasionally make comments, but rarely create content of your own.

Hence,  If I'm told I don't have an account my first reaction would be "ok 
how can I create one then?" It's possible this is a learned behaviour - 
it's that way on practically every other site, so people expect it to be 
that way on yours too.

So your system may be technically sound. And looking at it from the 
omniscient (within the bounds of the system) viewpoint of the developer, 
you can of course understand how things should work. Makes perfect sense to 
you.

But  I'd say, if you're having that many problems - "emails on an almost 
daily basis" - then the fault is not with your users. It's with your 
system. There's an excellent chapter about this sort of thing in Donald 
Norman's classic "The Design of Everyday Things". Chapter 3 - 'Knowledge in 
the Head and in the World'.

The short answer, though, is that your system may simply be suffering from 
a poor choice of terminology which the blink tag or other such 
strong-handed tactics won't solve.

regards.
-marc

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