Is it OK to cancel?
The problem of the ambiguous “confirm a cancel” dialogue box is still with us in 2011.
“So, do I click Cancel to cancel or OK to cancel.”
“You click OK to cancel. Cancel cancels the cancel.”
“Shouldn’t I click Cancel to cancel?”
“No, Cancel cancels the cancel, click OK, OK.”
“OK I clicked OK to cancel.”
“You wanted to cancel!?! You should have clicked Cancel. Now you’ve cancelled it. That’s not OK.”
Reminds me of a great scene in Intolerable Cruelty (you’ll need to turn up the volume).
Moral: Check the “Do not ask me again” box.
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My favourite, from a game in the days of crude pre-Windows/Mac graphics – confirming a request to exit the game: “to exit, press enter. To stay in, press escape.”
And I struck a nice ambiguity the other day when registering to attend an event on the Unlimited Potential (up.org.nz) website:
I go to the page that carries the details of the event and I’m faced with two buttons: “login” and “register”. Which would you click?
The right answer: you login; then on the next page, you press the button labelled “RSVP”.
The “register” button means what it would mean if it were on the home page: set up a new account. But on the page relating specifically to an event, it’s confusing.
Ha Steve – “To stay in, press escape” – classic.