Gee, that's helpful. "Standby" — even if a user knew that's what it
meant — is only marginally more useful than "closed circuit" (again,
if the user even knows that's what if symbol means, and then what the
term itself means).
And thus, "what it means" isn't of any use here. To the majority of
users, it is just a nonsense icon that "means" "power". (It shows on
the "glare reduction" button on the mirror in our current rental car,
in fact.) But it has become widespread enough -- I've seen it on
computer switches for a decade now -- that it is the de facto
standard that users now expect (if they expect anything).
The only generic user-created deciphering of the icon that I've heard
created which makes sense is "it's a toggle switch" — a circle with a
flip switch in the middle. Since pressing the button typically
toggles the power on and off, that's at least a "meaning" that
generic users can often grasp.
-- Jim Drew
Seattle, WA (but currently in Ireland)
On Feb 27, 2008, at 11:09 PM, Bruce Esrig wrote:
> According to the standards, the two components are a vertical
> stroke and a
> circle. When the vertical stroke goes through the top of the
> circle, the
> meaning is "standby".
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