Re: [Pan-users] About colors of read and watched messages...

[Duncan]

On Thu 12 Dec 2002 16:26, Maurizio Colucci posted as excerpted below:
> On Thursday 12 December 2002 19:59, Duncan wrote:
> > > -remove color for watched and use italics + sunglasses icon.
> > >
> > > I'd like to know what others think about it.
> >
> > The problem is then we loose the attachment / no-attachment icon
> > difference.
>
> Sorry, I can't see why.
> Couldn't we have two icons? One for the attachment, another one for
> watched?
>
> Reassuming, we would have:
>
>   1 icon for watched (no icon for unwatched)
>   1 icon for flagged  (no icon for unflagged)
>   1 icon for attachment (no icon for no attachment)
>   color for read-unread (the icon could be abandoned).
>
> with no need for multiple fonts and no drawbacks (as far as I can see).
>
> Could someone please explain to me what's wrong with it?
>
> (This is the exact behavior of Forte Agent, by the way.)

I was beginning to see this is where you were headed with your argument.

The problem is that if you have two icons that don't stomp on each other, you 
have to have two columns to show the icons.  Extra columns that aren't used 
most of the time waste screen space, which even with my triple 17"-ers is 
precious enough I'd rather not do it. 

There are currently two icon columns, one for cached/uncached/flagged (for d/l 
or save), which is important enough a distinction I'd like to keep it 
separate (and one reason I don't use the flagged message function for 
anything else), and one for everything else -- 
read/unread/text/complete-/incomplete-attachment.  Overloading that column 
with even MORE icons wouldn't be a good thing, IMO, and creating another 
column just for watched/unwatched/(ignored?) isn't such a good idea either, 
due to the screenspace it would require, when the color of the subject can be 
made to do additional duty without adding a column, and in fact it does it 
already, but just doesn't distinguish between read/unread in watched/ignored 
(not that read/unread in ignored should be important, anyway, unless someone 
chooses to use it for a different type of watched instead of using it as 
ignored, which is an interesting possibility).

Thus, I think most of the disconnect to date in the thread has been between 
your envisioning an additional column, and others both not wanting that 
additional column, and not wanting to overload the current one with yet 
ANOTHER set of icons, when message listing color is an info channel that 
remains comparitively under-utilized.

-- 
Duncan
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --
Benjamin Franklin