pmj7 — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 22:18:55 +0000

I'm in Canada.

These tools are extras, not necessities. If there was something they had to figure out to get to the main page, or find another page, I agree that they would leave. Most of us don't know how to use every feature in Word and Excel, but we're still happy to use them.

Some people are quick on the uptake and like convenience, or there wouldn't be drive-through liquor and lingerie (yes, they have one in Vancouver) stores!

Peter

Busy — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 22:18:49 +0000

Flags: If your in USA, use USA flag for English, French flag for French, Spanish flag for Spanish ...

If your in England, Use the Union Jack (English flag) for English.

Renegade — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 22:13:54 +0000

or you can use text and flags together with a quesiton asking what language they would like to view the content in, i've a few sites who have done that

Busy — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 21:28:05 +0000

When all else fails, and they can't figure it out, mouse-over to the rescue!
I think you'll find people will just leave rather than try and learn how to work your site. People are real lazy and attention span is very small (that's why no one reads my posts, to long and boring lol)

pmj7 — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 15:29:16 +0000

Thanks for the link, Suzanne.

I agree that the text for the language could make things a bit clearer, but then we start running into the screen space issue. It also isn't as visually attractive.

This case is a little different as people won't select the Canadian flag once they get there, it's already in English! And if they do, then nothing will change. It's just a way of returning back from Spanish, or French. Since it's first in the list, hopefully that will clue them in to the fact that this is the 'home' language.

At the very least, it is superior to Babelfish's script, which does not have mouse-over text at all (at least in Explorer).

I could add 'Translate' below the flags, linking that to the full-blown Babelfish page, but that pushes the main nav down a bit further.

When all else fails, and they can't figure it out, mouse-over to the rescue!

Peter

Suzanne — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 15:05:49 +0000

Yeah, alt is supposed to be if the image isn't there, title is supposed to be tool tip. IE/Win is the only browser that ignores this now (and N4.x before it).

Title gives you some marketing oomph, though, with valid space for some keywords.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/flagproblem.html

Using a flag in itself isn't a problem, but it's not as clear as:

English
Francais
Deutsch

et cetera.

When I go to sites that aren't English, and there is a link that says "English", I click it, and see it, immediately. Because it's very clear what it means.

For all I know, those flags indicate membership countries, sites on the same topic in other countries, et cetera.

pmj7 — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 13:50:48 +0000

I'll add 'title' as well.

If I can't be certain as to what a control does, in a program or on a web page, I always mouse over it first. It's quick and you may get a better understanding of what's going on.

I think the vast majority of people who would want a French-Canadian translation are those in Quebec, Canada. If you lived there, and had a choice of language translations (on a non-government web site) indicated by Canadian and French flags, which would you choose?

In any case, I can't think of another flag that would represent the English language better in this case (for reasons stated earlier).

Peter

Abhishek Reddy — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 09:20:28 +0000

If I can't find any labeling or clearly visible caption/title, I always try for alt descriptions.

Renegade — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 09:02:15 +0000

Quote: Originally posted by The Webmistress
Oh, well I don't really think that people mouseover images to see if there is an alt tag any way.

i know i don't

The Webmistress — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 08:18:40 +0000

Oh, well I don't really think that people mouseover images to see if there is an alt tag any way.