Demolishing generalizations

[Fabien Vais <phantoms -at- ACCENT -dot- NET>]

Bravo, Iain Harrison, for demolishing yet another generalization!

Standards are only as good as the number of people who follow them. This is
why ISO 9000 standards came into existence. There is also the "handedness"
issue. I have seen flushing handles (or pushbuttons) in the middle on the
toilet tank. This way, there's no jealousy. And "up is on and down is off"
doesn't hold either. Many light switches are now pushbuttons - press to turn
on, and press again to turn off. For light switches, you really don't need
to SEE the switch to know whether the light is on!!

Finally, around where I live, a bar on the door usually means PUSH to exit,
while a handle is meant to PULL the door. So there you go...

Please watch the generalizations.

Fabien

At 11:30 AM 2/4/97 GMT, you wrote:
>>>
>Cold is on the right and hot on the left;
><<
>IME, that is true about 45% of the time. 45% of the time it is the
>other way around, and in the remaining 10% there is no hot in either
>tap.
>
>>>
>the handle on a toilet is on the right;
><<
>
>It depends on which way you are facing, and which way the pipes run.
>Normally, the handle is on the opposite side to where the feed pipe
>comes in - the cistern usually has holes each side. I live in a house
>built in 1836, (but the plumbing was added some time after then) and
>the 'handle' is a chain hanging down, extended by a leather strap so
>that the children can reach it.
>
>>>
>up is on and down is off;
><<
>
>In the UK, up is off, down is on, unless it is something imported from
>the USA. Even then, many importer turn the switch over.
>
>>>
>bars mean pull and handles mean push;
><<
>
>Maybe. Or maybe the architect liked handles better than bars. A better
>rule is that in public buildings, doors open towards the exit.
>
>>>
>and the minimize button is a little down arrow in the
>upper-right corner of a Windows application.
><<
>
>Unless it is a Window 95 application
>
>I think I'm saying that it is too easy to assume that everyone has the
>same 'standards'. You can't take very much for granted at all.
>
>Personally, I have never seen a US-style mailbox with a flag,
>irrespective of what a raised flag means. Our post is delivered
>through the door except in very remote places, and generally collected
>from public pillarboxes, not from private letterboxes.
>
>Iain Harrison
>iharrison -at- sct -dot- co -dot- uk
>iain -at- hairydog -dot- clara -dot- net
>TechComm web pages http://home.clara.net/hairydog/techcomm.html
>
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