Comment by drivers99 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by drivers99 | Hacker News Reader

I remember back in the days of HTML 1.0 or 2.0, they suggested not using the words "click here" in a link since some day you might be able to indicate other ways of following a link besides clicking (or you could already through non-graphical browsers). I think this is the first time I've seen "tap here" when I had to click. It was kind of a weird feeling, like I was pretending to tap by clicking. But my point is "tap here" and "keep tapping" is just as incorrect as "click here."

And as Donald Norman would point out, you shouldn't have to put instructions on your interface telling people how to use it (e.g. "push" and "pull" on doors).

It seems that everyone who uses this site to create a presentation is going to have to put "tap here" and "keep tapping" on the first two slides to get anyone to understand what's going on.

It looks like I wasn't the only one confused by the user interface. Losing the ability to go back and forward is also kind of annoying (tried right click).

The problem with "click here" was related to how search engines indexed you since they traditionally used anchor text to find the most relevant link.

I still find it hilarious that Adobe Reader is still #1 for a "click here" search.

I think a tap and a click is interchangeable anyway. You can tap a mouse.

Considering the website is called readtapestry.com, I'm getting the impression this is a fairly new concept that is still in it's early days. Once people get used to the idea, the prompts may not be needed. Perhaps it's just odd to us right now because we still use mice.

However, worse than this is the "do not break the back button" mantra, which this seems to do so well.

It took me five minutes to figure out how to navigate past that first page. I thought it was some sort of joke that I just wasn't getting.

On that note, I was only able to get the "right arrow" key to allow me to move forward. Mouse clicking, space bar, and several others didn't work. Am I missing something fundamental?

I actually think "push" and "pull" make sense on a door since it can go both ways (although you can solve that one by using a handle on the pull side, and a flat rectangle on the push side).

The real thing you shouldn't need to put on a door, though, is how to use it: "Use as an entrance."

Norman's point is probably precisely that you should put the flat plate/handle on as appropriate.

It was. He also had some other more elaborate examples, but I couldn't think of any. I believe he is coming out with a new edition of The Design of Everyday Things which is mostly rewritten. Looks like it's coming out November 5th.

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