In <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Coleman Kane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> typed:
> On 4/19/06, Eric Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > >>> Please do not use colors in rc. Escape-sequenced colors make
> > >>> unacceptable assumptions about the user and syslogd strips
> > >>> escape sequences anyway, so it would be of no use to logged
> > >>> consoles. Serial consoles introduce other problems with buggy
> > >>> escape handling in third-party terminal programs. A good text
> > >>> layout and descriptive status messages do far more for clarity
> > >>> and readability than any use of color ever can.
> This point can be debated...
Only the last point, and only because it involves a quantity that's
very difficult to measure.
> read some literature from Edward Tufte...
I've read Tufte. I've gotten him to sign my copy of some of his books
at his seminars. I wish (vehemently!) that more web authors would read
Tufte.
> colors are a good way to cram more "information" into a space without
> actually compromising the capacity of that space.
True, but that's not his point. His point is that the colors aren't
always visible (another thing I wish more web authors were aware
of). The text layout and status messages should work well in
environments where the colors aren't visible, because there are times
when that's the kind of environment they'll be in.
That said, colors can make checking for exceptions much easier - if
you can see them. So I don't have any problem with adding
colors. However, they should be off by default (at least initially),
and the messages and layout should be tested that way until they work
well without colors.
<mike
--
Mike Meyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.mired.org/consulting.html
Independent Network/Unix/Perforce consultant, email for more information.
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