[thelist] Accessibility/usability of "Select Option" at top of list

Sarah Adams mr.sanders at geekjock.ca
Mon Jan 15 11:02:18 CST 2007


>> Just so that it is clear, I meant "Select option" as a generic phrase: at
>> the top of a country list, "Select Country" or at the top of a spots list
>> "Select favourite sport", etc.
> 
> It was clear enough, I find that it's generally neccessary to prevent
> defaults being entered by mistake:
> 
> TITLE: MR
> MRS
> MS
> MISS
> 
> Could produce more MR by mistake
> 
> TITLE: Select Title
> MR
> MRS
> MS
> MISS
> 
> I would *guess* produce a more reliable result.

I agree with providing a default option for this reason (i.e. to avoid
having the first option selected incorrectly), but I think for the most
part, the option should be either an actual option (as mentioned in
Jakob Nielsen's article) or blank - IMHO using (e.g.) "Select Country"
is redundant if a proper label has been provided - after all, you
wouldn't pre-fill a text box with "Type Name" would you?

-- 
sarah adams
web developer & programmer
portfolio: http://sarah.designshift.com
blog: http://hardedge.ca



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