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Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

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Re: Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

#11

Post by bryogenic »

MCompeau wrote: post #7

This discourse goes beyond the anachronistic references indicated by these icons and calls into question our entire system of interface metaphors. At one point in time imagining the information stored on your computer as a system of "files" and "folders" was pivotal in transitioning a society from the physical world to the digital one. Now that the transition is largely complete and many people are coming of age who…

I would like to hear an "explain it to me like I'm five" that explained what computer "files" and "folders" are and how they work without using the words or their associated metaphors.

I agree some of the actual system specific icons and metaphors are outdated and junk, but I guess I'm in the camp that thinks these basic metaphors are actually useful in the education of computer interface / mechanisms.

Re: Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

#12

Post by batista »

TwistedWeasel wrote: post #4

The idea that people don't know what a cog or a wrench is seems like the author is taking this a step too far. I wouldn't call those things "shrouded in mystery". Similarly there are still plenty of microphones that look like that, they're professional microphones, not "old fashioned" ones.

Plus, once a reference is established (like the floppy disk) it's idiotic to always replace it with the latest tech (we'd have zip drives in the nineties, usb drives in the '00s, the cloud today, etc etc..)

Re: Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

#13

Post by batista »

MCompeau wrote: post #7

This discourse goes beyond the anachronistic references indicated by these icons and calls into question our entire system of interface metaphors. At one point in time imagining the information stored on your computer as a system of "files" and "folders" was pivotal in transitioning a society from the physical world to the digital one. Now that the transition is largely complete and many people are coming of age who…

>Now that the transition is largely complete and many people are coming of age who have never known a world without computers, its time to move beyond anachronistic metaphors.

They might have been metaphors once, now they are idioms.

The people who "have never known a world without computers" have also never known a world where there weren't filesystem folders and files.

Re: Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

#15

Post by holyjaw »

The difficult part about reading this thread was having to ask, after every point, "well, then what?"

Out computer verbs are based off of (admittedly, maybe outdated) similar verbs. Our electronic work mirrors our physical work solely because of the limitations of our language constructs. I have it on good authority that there is not a single language that has words that that specifically define what we do on a computer that would be better suited and more efficient than a physical-describing counterpart.

So, as mentioned earlier, the floppy metaphor: OK, I get it. But clipboards, bookmarks, Manila folders? How would you describe an object that lets you take information from one place to another in 32px? What physical object are you aware of that allows you to mark your place amidst a vast density of information? Don't even get me started on the folders.

It's coy to label them "old-people icons" -- it's clever, I dig it -- but if tomorrow we were to unveil a new set of nouns and verbs to describe computer objects, the reigning argument would be that they never made sense at all.

And have fun trying to explain to your grandfather/mother/nephew how to uses computer without having any real-world jargon to borrow from.

Re: Old People Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

#18

Post by TwistedWeasel »

batista wrote: post #12
TwistedWeasel wrote: post #4

The idea that people don't know what a cog or a wrench is seems like the author is taking this a step too far. I wouldn't call those things "shrouded in mystery". Similarly there are still plenty of microphones that look like that, they're professional microphones, not "old fashioned" ones.

Plus, once a reference is established (like the floppy disk) it's idiotic to always replace it with the latest tech (we'd have zip drives in the nineties, usb drives in the '00s, the cloud today, etc etc..)

Exactly, who cares if an icon is based on a dated object if it's understood. All things become dated eventually, especially in the tech world

What's the alternative, pick something abstract that confuses people. That didn't work out so well for the recent GMail redesign.

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