On May 26, 2011, at 11:02 PM, Dave Close wrote: > "Derek J. Balling" wrote: > >> Because that "stupid gear symbol" is rapidly becoming the "language >> independen >> t" symbol for "preferences". So if, perhaps, you can't read the language on >> t >> he screen at all, you can still find the place where you might be able to >> say, >> change the preference for language. >> >> There is nothing more frustrating than being given a localized version of a >> pa >> ge when you're visiting a foreign country and don't actually read the native >> l >> anguage, and it's not even in an alphabet similar to your own (ie, try >> visitin >> g Israel without speaking Hebrew, and finding the preference for changing >> your >> language back to English... I'd've killed for it to be a universal icon like >> the gear rather than yet another word in an alphabet I can't understand). > > Ah, but the correct solution is for the browser to send a language > preference variable and for the web site to honor it. No need to change > from a foreign language by finding the non-obvious place to do that.
A better solution than a universal simple symbol is to establish a system whereby all website developers must support all written languages and all browsers must behave consistently before we can get things right? I mean this with all due respect, but that's an exceptionally naive solution. The common wisdom "Perfect is the enemy of good" comes to mind. Worst than impossibly naive, this "correct" solution is prohibitively expensive, needlessly complex, hostile to developers, and puts the burden on users when it breaks. In other words, this correct solution is in fact not. -- Benjamin _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
