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Path: utzoo!mnetor!yetti!geac!sigrid
From: sigrid@geac.UUCP (Sigrid Grimm)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: comp.cog-eng
Message-ID: <974@geac.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Jul-87 14:34:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.974
Posted: Mon Jul 27 14:34:56 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 28-Jul-87 01:36:06 EDT
References: <386@sdics.ucsd.EDU>
Reply-To: sigrid@geac.UUCP (Sigrid Grimm)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star
Lines: 41

In article <386@sdics.ucsd.EDU> norman@sdics.UUCP (Donald A. Norman) writes:
>
>Sounds like a typical problem in human factors/ergonomics/
>human-computer interaction: selecting a name.
>
>The problem is all the thousands of readers on the net who do NOT know 
>those terms, but who can read into the abbreviated terms definitions 
>consitent with their own needs.
>
>I therefore recommend a FULL name, at least as full as possible given
>the constraints of netnews.
> [various good suggestions omitted] ...

I like *all* the names suggested ... even the current one (which is 
undoubtedly well accepted by those who already associate "comp.cog-eng"
with a "human-factors/man-machine interface/computer-human interface/
human performance engineering/human-machine interface/ergonomics" 
newsgroup).

Can't we somehow employ the concept of aliasing here ? That way, all
the thousands of readers on the net can pick terms which are meaningful
to *them* ... oh, but then there's the problem of *assigning* the alias 
... have to have some way of allowing the user to figure out what it is 
that he's aliasing ... maybe some kind of keyword search on a file of 
records having information about all the newsgroups ... then a menu of 
matched newsgroups ... maybe an opportunity to browse the matched newsgroups' 
information records ... then a choice from the menu (with option to cancel 
of course) ... then a request for a more preferable alias ... but that 
means first explaining the term "alias" to the kind of user who has to 
alias things using a menu ...  hmmmm .... and geez ... what about the more 
sophisticated user ? he won't want to use menus to alias things .... some 
kind of interface selection toggle then ... hey ... maybe a whole new 
interface strategy for the News application ... yeh...  that's the tickit ...

A WHOLE NEW INTERFACE FOR THE NEWS APPLICATION !!!

sigh ... oh well. I tried ...

Sigrid @)------->-------

"... who said reality was user friendly ?"