There are two "Delete" patterns I have noticed out there: 1. - Immediate Deletion: As the name implies, the delete action takes place immediately. There are no confirmation steps of any kind.
2. - Mediated Deletion: This type usually includes an intermediate "page" or dialogue box that asks the user to "confirm" that they indeed do want to delete the item along with very important pertinent information associated with the delete action. The problem for me arises when we use the same label for both of these different types of behaviors. In other words, nothing differentiates the different delete actions. Both of them may simply say "Delete this XYZ" Has anyone here seen a label that provides the users some sort of clue as to which action will take place? DISCLAIMER: (In the interest of clarity and saving time...I don't want this question to be confused with the closely related topic of whether "Confirmation dialogs" or "confirmation pages" are necessary. That's another question. For now I'd like to ask you to suspend your preference on whether you think confirmation is needed or not and assume that the system you are working on will have a "confirmation" step for some of the delete actions. To complicate things, the system will ALSO use Immediate Deletion. This way the problem is clear. Once again, this is not a question of whether you think the choice to allow both types of deletion is right or wrong. It's a question about labeling and differentiating two different delete processes.) ________________________________________________________________ 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
