(Paul Prescod) writes:
>You've reversed the issue of bother. When you allow any order you
>"bother" the user with the responsibility of choosing an order. From
>the user's point of view, the order matters unless they are told
>otherwise.
Hmm... I guess I just don't believe that.
As a user dealing with information, I tend to prefer to keep whatever
order I had for information originally. If I'm copying structured lists
of numbers, for instance, having to copy columns out of order is a huge
nuisance. Typing them in as they came is easier and results in fewer
transpositions.
Enforcing a particular order is fine if and only if I can count on my
inputs - which may not come from computers - matching that order. If I
have to change the order which I found most comfortable to match your
choice of order, I'm a lot less happy.
I don't encounter too many users who are bothered when told they can
enter information or markup information in whatever order came with the
information. I do encounter users who are annoyed every time someone
tells them to change the order.
--
Simon St.Laurent
Ring around the content, a pocket full of brackets
Errors, errors, all fall down!
http://simonstl.com -- http://monasticxml.org
