Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Bookmarks

Author:Robert Cassidy
Posted:8/15/2000; 12:45:54 PM
Topic:scriptingNews outline for 8/13/2000
Msg #:19730 (In response to 19694)
Prev/Next:19729 / 19731

I have to disagree with you on the bookmarks thing, Dave.

Bookmarks is a terrible term, since it relies on a metaphor that doesn't always work and limits the use of the item. Favorites, though not perfect, is better.

So the issue becomes whether we should force a terminology change when appropriate on those individuals accustomed to the old way. The answer should be 'yes', and here's why:

A little known fact: there are about the same number of people alive as dead. That is, the 6 billion people walking around right now is about equal to the 6 billion committed to the land over the course of the last 10,000+ years (apparently all of the horrible plagues, wars, natural disasters, etc. that have killed millions upon millions of people, while devastating to individuals, really has had little impact on the species). The lesson here is that new users will always outstrip the old ones in terms of both resources and contributions.

Old terminology had to yield to new, to make way for new concepts, uses. Should bookmarks just mark a place on the net, or serve new functions. I have bookmarks that do things - like ManilaExpress, or HTML checking. They are services, not just places in space. Bookmark doesn't describe them well, but I could just as easily refer to them as a favorite service as I could call Scripting News a favorite site. What if it's a favorite file on my server I'm linked to? What if it's a favorite song? I don't have any bookmarks in my house that reference music, or a movie.

I understand the metaphor, and you do as well. But my son (now 2 1/2) will wonder why we refer to a reference to a movie as a bookmark. It has nothing to do with books and the metaphor will make no sense, as he will discover internet favorites (reference is a better term, IMO, as it incorporates into a conversation better and is generally accurate in its usage) far sooner than physical bookmarks. He'll be fairly old (at least 6) before he deals with books long enough to require a bookmark.

*We* like 'bookmarks' because metaphors are designed to take a concept you understand already and apply it to something that you don't yet. But what happens for people that get exposure to both the new concept and the one referred to in the metaphor simultaneously? Or in the reverse order?

Will I have to describe how file folders work to my son? 'They are just like directories on the computer, but for paper...' Metaphors are temporary instructional devices and need to be discarded at some point.

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