On 23/08/07, Stefan Monov <logixoul@gmail.com> wrote:
> Wouldn't that make buttons HUGE?

Not if you have a common notification area where all messages of that
kind show - something like the yellow horizontal bar in recent
browsers. This is an emerging idiom in desktop design.


> BTW, in a good portion of the "don't ask me again" cases there's no
> "command button" to speak of. E.g.: "do you accept these cookies", "do
> you really wanna close these 4 tabs".

According to usability theory, destructive actions like "do you really
wanna close these 4 tabs" should NOT have a "don't ask me again"
option. They should either A) be undoable or B) put an unavoidable BIG
RED WARNING every time! (for closing tabs, option A works better ->
automatic saving sessions). An action that permanently destroys user
data/user state should never be just one click away.

The "accept cookies" case is more interesting: the real user goal
there is not to micromanage every single visited webpage - the goal is
to secure personal information when browsing. A correct solution is to
present easy access to a centralized security manager, where the user
can set a general policy (for cookies and for every other security
concern).

See for example the NoScript extension for Firefox - the default is
blocking execution of all javascript, but a shortut icon to the
options dialog is always present at the toolbar, and the extension
warns in an unobtrusive way every time that a site with javascript is
visited.

The change in the interaction procedure is not forcing the user to
MAKE A DECISION FOR EVERY SINGLE ACTION TAKEN (this is which prompted
the necessity of a "don't ask me again" option in the first place),
but instead to default to a good, safe action and allow the user to
easily override it.
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