There is no suggestion here that you remove the ability to search products.
All of this can certainly be verified in user testing. Include variations of only a search, primarily search with secondary categories, and then flip them. No matter what is said on this board, proof comes from the user. - david On Sat, Feb 7, 2009 at 8:25 PM, Dennis Serras <[email protected]> wrote: > The point of a category tree is to facilitate a very limited search > based on an initial assumption or mental model. But you have to agree > with that breakdown, and the manufacturer has to have the exact same > definition, or you're actually driving the user away. > > Category have the *illusion* of usefulness when dealing with large > sets. Imagine a Venn diagram with multiple fuzzy-bordered bubbles - > which is what the real world is like. If an item is even 1% outside a > bubble it won't show up in a category. Yet the user is forced to make > an arbitrary distinction - is it a comedy or a drama or a family movie > or a children's movie or an animated movie (all could apply to > Finding Nemo). You pick the one that you think is most likely and > hope that you're right. And if you're not? SOL. But if there's no > categories? You skip the whole farce and go right for your OWN logic. > > Telling the manufacturers that there are no categories will at least > make them put the categories in the keywords, so folk are no worse > off, or, in my hope, they'll look at other likely ways a customer > might find an item and put in more. > > Categories are fine for computer components. It stinks for books, > movies, clothes, people, or anything else that doesn't have only one > possible interpretation. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38306 > > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [email protected] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- david grubman -------------------- Buy your Jeep stuff from www.californiajeepauthority.com ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
