I thought so too at first, and was annoyed, but it seems that icons are more inclusive, as they don’t unnecessarily favor native English speakers.
That doesn’t mean the current set is optimal. I already registered my objection to an envelope icon for a reply, when the symbol normally means “private message”.
True, but from the fact that someone is somewhat fluent in English, it doesn’t follow that they can easily infer the meanings of such context-free and technical terms. In fairness, though, I don’t know the extent of this problem, and I can’t really speak for such an audience. I do know that has been, well, general, unspoken policy to be at least as inclusive in other contexts, even when the nature of this site would kind of obviate the need to be inclusive in that particular way.
I thought so too at first, and was annoyed, but it seems that icons are more inclusive, as they don’t unnecessarily favor native English speakers.
The new icons have potential to be offensive, however; a thumbs-up gesture is an obscene suggestion in some cultures. If we have to use icons for up/down votes, it might make more sense to use reddit arrows.
I’m personally not in the “no icons” camp, so much as the, “these are the wrong icons” camp. Even though I know what they mean, I keep thinking the bent arrow is the reply button and that the envelope means private message. And the peanut-looking thing isn’t very suggestive of its function, either.
Of course, I don’t know that there are any icons that would satisfy me; I’m just saying I’m not in principle opposed to them.
However, if the main purpose of the change is SEO, then there’s no reason we couldn’t have icons with text in them… ;-)
(As someone else pointed out, though, the text is still there, just hidden. A little tweaking in Firebug, and I’ve actually gotten the action links to look roughly like they did before, and I’m tempted to try to figure out how to make those changes permanent on my end.)
One other thing that bugs me about the current icons is that they are not at all inviting. Every time a new user sees “vote” and “reply”, they are being subliminally primed to participate in the site. (Heck—they have that effect on existing users as well.) The icons, however, don’t prime a damn thing AFAICT. I see the thumbs and think, “meh”—they look like somebody changing their mind, unsure whether to vote up or down. I see the envelope, and wonder if I have any mail.
I thought so too at first, and was annoyed, but it seems that icons are more inclusive, as they don’t unnecessarily favor native English speakers.
That doesn’t mean the current set is optimal. I already registered my objection to an envelope icon for a reply, when the symbol normally means “private message”.
This might be a more important consideration for a website that wasn’t, you know, based around arguing subtle points in fairly precise English.
True, but from the fact that someone is somewhat fluent in English, it doesn’t follow that they can easily infer the meanings of such context-free and technical terms. In fairness, though, I don’t know the extent of this problem, and I can’t really speak for such an audience. I do know that has been, well, general, unspoken policy to be at least as inclusive in other contexts, even when the nature of this site would kind of obviate the need to be inclusive in that particular way.
The new icons have potential to be offensive, however; a thumbs-up gesture is an obscene suggestion in some cultures. If we have to use icons for up/down votes, it might make more sense to use reddit arrows.
I’m personally not in the “no icons” camp, so much as the, “these are the wrong icons” camp. Even though I know what they mean, I keep thinking the bent arrow is the reply button and that the envelope means private message. And the peanut-looking thing isn’t very suggestive of its function, either.
Of course, I don’t know that there are any icons that would satisfy me; I’m just saying I’m not in principle opposed to them.
However, if the main purpose of the change is SEO, then there’s no reason we couldn’t have icons with text in them… ;-)
(As someone else pointed out, though, the text is still there, just hidden. A little tweaking in Firebug, and I’ve actually gotten the action links to look roughly like they did before, and I’m tempted to try to figure out how to make those changes permanent on my end.)
One other thing that bugs me about the current icons is that they are not at all inviting. Every time a new user sees “vote” and “reply”, they are being subliminally primed to participate in the site. (Heck—they have that effect on existing users as well.) The icons, however, don’t prime a damn thing AFAICT. I see the thumbs and think, “meh”—they look like somebody changing their mind, unsure whether to vote up or down. I see the envelope, and wonder if I have any mail.