On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 7:01 PM, Gerald Combs <gerald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 4/10/13 3:57 PM, Kurt Knochner wrote:
>> Laura Chappell wrote:
>>
>>> RECOMMENDATION:
>>> Start= just green arrow
>>> Stop= just red square
>>
>> a lot of other network sniffers chose that for their icons too.
>>
>> http://goo.gl/EtySX
>
> This makes zero sense to me. Why would you click on a "play" button to
> capture packets?
This.
At risk of repeating myself: if the icon is confusing fix the icon,
but I think the recording metaphor is right. Perhaps Guy's suggestion
of adding fill/depth so that it looks less like an indicator light and
more like a button is worth pursuing.
However, as Laura's poll showed, the power of green=start and red=stop
is not to be ignored (this suggests to me that the standard 'record'
icon of a red circle isn't optimal in the first place). Perhaps just a
green circle for start and a red square for stop?
Either way, it's hard to argue conclusively without a usability study;
polls are good, but people do sometimes report things that they think
are true but don't hold up in real life.
And despite having said all that, I'm going to cast my final vote in
favour of Laura's recommendation (green triangle/red square). It's the
lowest common denominator of go/stop and almost certainly the easiest
for brand new users to figure out, even if the metaphor doesn't quite
make sense on reflection. I am allowed to change my mind :)
Evan
