Re: Are computer icons on-topic?

On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 09:46:04 -0800, Doug Ewell <dewell@...> wrote:

> Lots of things convey meaning, and of course drawings were an early
> predecessor of writing. But I think they fail to be true writing
> systems to the extent that they cannot convey *arbitrary* meaning.

[...]

> "Computer icons" are no different from any other small pictures in this
> regard. An octagonal red stop sign or circle-with-diagonal-slash, or
> for that matter a drawing of a human hand with the index (or middle!)
> finger raised, does not become fundamentally different because it
> appears on a computer screen.
>
> Writing is 21st-century writing.

Good! Thank you. Ask, and ye shall receive.

> [...] animated icons. These were annoying beyond your wildest
> imagination; think of your Program Manager windows being overrun by
> dozens of tiny frenetic pop-up ads and you've got the idea.

I have suggested, only partly in jest, that some very-animated ads run the
risk of triggering epileptic seizures, surely no joking matter. I once
suggested to the Opera Software people that it would be nice to be able to
use a click-and-drag filled rectangle (as in a computer drawing program)
to cover a particularly-annoying ad.

Regards,

--
Nicholas Bodley /*|*\ Waltham, Mass.
Opera browser ads are notably free from annoyances.