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Re: Public vs. Private information

for

From: Tim Harshbarger
Date: Nov 27, 2006 6:40AM

John Foliot wrote:
>The question then becomes, does hearing "Private" 18 times in
>this short a burst have any negative impact? Will it become
>un-useable, unwieldy, or frustrating? The distinction is
>important, but it is subtle at the same time... All we really
>want to do is remind the user that it is private data that
>should not be shared off campus - however the user has agreed
>to at least share it at this level (you also have the option
>of not providing much of the info - leaving the field blank if
>you choose - e.g.. Address info).
>Does hitting the screen reader over the head with 18
>"Private!" declarations work? I think *I* would tire of it
>easily, but I really don't know. As I mentioned earlier, a
>slight tonal shift via audio CSS would probably work just
>right, but we don't have that as a practical option, so I am
>exploring other possibilities.
>
>So I re-pose another question: To daily users of Adaptive
>Tech, especially screen readers, what think you? Thanks for
>any feedback.

My thought is that repetition alone is not necessarily the most
important factor to determining if it will bother or frustrate the user.
I think there may be at least a few other factors that increase or
decrease the likelihood that the repetition will be bothersome or
frustrating.

I think one factor is the length of the phrase being repeated. The
longer, the greater the possibility for frustration. "Private" is
probably much less likely to cause frustration than "The information in
this field is private and may not be shared..."

Another factor may be how useful the information is in performing the
current task. I expect "graphic spacer" would be more frustrating than
"public."

I think another factor has to do with how much time the user thinks he
or she has to complete the fields. If the person believes he must
complete it within a certain time or feels rushed to complete it in a
short period of time, I think the repetition will become bothersome.

If you still have concerns about the repetition, you might want to ask
how essential is that information to the user when the user is filling
out those fields. It might be that the information is important, but
fits better in another place. It might be that it is best where it is
at now.

Hope this is of some use.

Tim