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Just let me select text

aartaka.me

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Re: Just let me select text

#481

Post by wulfstan »

will_pseudonym wrote: post #279
zelphirkalt wrote: post #260

I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. I have no issues tracking lines usually, but somehow I still select and highlight. Maybe it is just easier to track lines this way. When I see some web page, that prevents this, then that website gets a -50 reputation score out of 100 in my book. So if the site is perfect in every other way (almost no site is) then -50 still makes i…

> I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. "There are dozens of us!"

Such a relief! But it drives my wife completely crazy.

Re: Just let me select text

#482

Post by TeMPOraL »

anthk wrote: post #324
whstl wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you still haven't explained why normal-selectable websites like HN itself are bad for keyboard users.

I use HN from Links daily, on a terminal. It's perfectly usable.

That's cheating. Terminal is in a sense the ultimate accessibility viewer, but few things work with existing terminal browsers I know of.

Makes me wonder though, if anyone tried to take a SOTA screen reader/accessibility software, and use it to re-render the page purely from the "how the screen reader sees it" perspective (obviously with selectable text)?

Re: Just let me select text

#483

Post by Self-Perfection »

Using text? How old school! This is not how current generation interacts with computers.

My colleagues frequently send me cli output as screenshots instead of text. They are too accustomed to macOS embedded OCR I presume.

Or how would they share event details on social media. Rarely there is text description, mostly date and time is imprinted on image in Instagram.

Re: Just let me select text

#484

Post by TeMPOraL »

fkyoureadthedoc wrote: post #146
petsfed wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because fuck people who require additional accessibility options, right? On top of the real concerns around otherwise selectable text in a writing system not supported by the user's keyboard, there's also the issue of whether or not they can even operate enough of a keyboard to transcribe whatever text they want to translate.

> Yeah, because fuck people who require additional accessibility options, right? Just do whatever you want and then listen to your actual users' feedback. I worked on an application that I had to make button text not selectable because the old people using it kept selecting text on the buttons by mistake instead of clicking/activating the button and getting stuck during a clinical trial. Should I have left it selecta…

> Just do whatever you want and then listen to your actual users' feedback.

That's good advice. But there's an important caveat: telemetry is not user feedback.

This is where "data driven" approach often fails in practice: telemetry isn't feedback, it's evidence you gather to help you guess the user feedback in lieu of actually getting it. When that's not understood and given proper care (which is approximately always, because everyone has too little time and too many stakeholders breathing down their necks), it's very easy to just find proof for your own preconceptions in the data stream.

Re: Just let me select text

#486

Post by TeMPOraL »

muxator wrote: post #307
will_pseudonym wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. "There are dozens of us!"

Hi, fellow compulsive selectors! Thanks, I am no longer feeling alone!

Me three, there are many dozens of us!

Compulsive selecting while reading, and hitting CTRL+S every couple seconds while editing documents, are the two "weird" habits I couldn't kick for decades now. Most of the time, I'm not even conscious I'm doing those things; I only notice when the text isn't selectable or the program pops up a modal in response to CTRL+S.

Re: Just let me select text

#487

Post by lomase »

narag wrote: post #383
zelphirkalt wrote: post #260

I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. I have no issues tracking lines usually, but somehow I still select and highlight. Maybe it is just easier to track lines this way. When I see some web page, that prevents this, then that website gets a -50 reputation score out of 100 in my book. So if the site is perfect in every other way (almost no site is) then -50 still makes i…

Well, yet another compulsive selector here, but: Similarly I get annoyed, if every pixel is some clickable action trigger. This is the worst. It permeates all kind of GUIs. Windows has this mini preview windows that pop up when you're hovering over the apps in the taskbar. Also if you accidentally hover over them , all the windows are minimized except the one previewed. Microsoft has systematically terminated every s…

Also if you accidentally hover over them, all the windows are minimized except the one previewed.

This does not happen on my windows machines, must be something configurable, I would hate it.

Re: Just let me select text

#488

Post by cactusplant7374 »

aartaka wrote: post #461
cactusplant7374 wrote: post #216

I take screenshots of posts on X and have ChatGPT provide critical commentary. It has worked out really well. I am sure translation will work well too.

That’s a terrible use of technology. You can just read that. No need for a forest-burning slop machine there.

It's actually searching google and referencing newspaper articles. That's very helpful to me and saves me a lot of time.

Re: Just let me select text

#489

Post by __icarus__ »

crazygringo wrote: post #459
zelphirkalt wrote: post #260

I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. I have no issues tracking lines usually, but somehow I still select and highlight. Maybe it is just easier to track lines this way. When I see some web page, that prevents this, then that website gets a -50 reputation score out of 100 in my book. So if the site is perfect in every other way (almost no site is) then -50 still makes i…

What are example web pages that prevent this for body text? I feel like I've never come across it before, expect TFA which is making a point... I also can't recall ever coming across a clickable action trigger on every word. Just links that might have some popup action. And I use opt+click to select things within regular links. I'm genuinely curious because it seems like lots of people are agreeing, and this is not a…

substack and some modern ebook apps such as kindle and Wechat books. When you select a popup appears for highlight, leave a comment, or share.

Re: Just let me select text

#490

Post by lomase »

tomaskafka wrote: post #388
sethammons wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, text should be selectable, even when links. The amount of times I've accidentally highlighted instead of clicking? Maybe a couple? The amount of times that frustrated or confused me? Absolutely zero. I want to select the text of a link and copy the text of a link. I want to do this but I run into issues _daily_, esp. on mobile. PagerDuty app, I'm looking at you! Mobile seems to assume that you, in no world ever,…

Double click selects text. What to do with web app elements where people double click or rapidly click?

Double click selects text.

That is what it should do.

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