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How does it make sense to say “you have to walk the rest of the way” by drawing a line on a map, unless you intended it to imply that that’s the path to walk?

by tobr 5y ago

treesprite82 5y ago
Here's what that line looks like currently: https://i.imgur.com/tougs6p.png https://i.imgur.com/tougs6p.png (note: this is with the updated end-point at visitor center, probably won't have gone through loch previously) It's de-emphasised, doesn't show up in directions, is a perfectly smooth curve rather than conforming to paths/roads, and doesn't have the label saying to walk it. I think the vast majority of people would correctly interpret it as just showing the distance between the end-point and the destination set and I don't think it's necessarily bad UI. But still, with the popularity of Google maps and potential danger in misinterpreting it, it's probably worth considering ways to make it even clearer.
- Sniffnoy 5y ago
  In order to look like it's indicating distance, it has to be a straight line, not a curve, and moreover actually have the distance written alongside it. That's at a minimum, I'd say; putting arrowheads on the ends might also help, e.g.
- eyelidlessness 5y ago
  I can only tell it’s de-emphasized because I’ve been told it is. And while I have vision correction it’s reasonably up to date, and I’ve never suspected I have any kind of color blindness until reading this thread.
- oarsinsync 5y ago
  > I think the vast majority of people would correctly interpret it as just showing the distance between the end-point and the destination set and I don't think it's necessarily bad UI. If this thread is anything to go by, slim majority at best. > But still, with the popularity of Google maps and potential danger in misinterpreting it, it's probably worth considering ways to make it even clearer. This is the really important point, and thank you for making it. Google Maps is used by 100 of millions (if not billions) of people. If these issues only impact 1% of users, that's still millions of people negatively impacted. At scale, even "niche" issues matter.
p_j_w 5y ago
If you use Google Maps on the regular, you'll be used to a solid blue line (yellow or red if there's traffic) on the car's route. I don't remember the first time I came across the dotted line, but I certainly don't remember having a hard time figuring out what that meant. Apparently this isn't the case for everyone, though. Also, I'm a nove hiker at best, but even I know that there's essentially zero hikes where the shape of the trail is a nice arc across the map like the one in the story. I'm legitimately baffled that anyone would have thought that was a suggested path to the peak.
- shock-value 5y ago
  The dotted arc could easily be interpreted as “this isn’t the exact path but there is a navigable walking path in the general direction of this line” which is just as unhelpful and potentially dangerous.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
  You run into the dotted line a lot if you use mass transit directions.
devoutsalsa 5y ago
How about a dotted line where the dots are question marks. A ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B A - ? - ? - ? - ? - B A - - ? -- ? -- ? -- B

How does it make sense to say “you have to walk the rest of the way” by drawing a line on a map, unless you intended it to imply that that’s the path to walk?

by tobr 5y ago

How does it make sense to say “you have to walk the rest of the way” by drawing a line on a map, unless you intended it to imply that that’s the path to walk?

treesprite82 5y ago

Here's what that line looks like currently: https://i.imgur.com/tougs6p.png https://i.imgur.com/tougs6p.png (note: this is with the updated end-point at visitor center, probably won't have gone through loch previously) It's de-emphasised, doesn't show up in directions, is a perfectly smooth curve rather than conforming to paths/roads, and doesn't have the label saying to walk it. I think the vast majority of people would correctly interpret it as just showing the distance between the end-point and the destination set and I don't think it's necessarily bad UI. But still, with the popularity of Google maps and potential danger in misinterpreting it, it's probably worth considering ways to make it even clearer.

Sniffnoy 5y ago
In order to look like it's indicating distance, it has to be a straight line, not a curve, and moreover actually have the distance written alongside it. That's at a minimum, I'd say; putting arrowheads on the ends might also help, e.g.
eyelidlessness 5y ago
I can only tell it’s de-emphasized because I’ve been told it is. And while I have vision correction it’s reasonably up to date, and I’ve never suspected I have any kind of color blindness until reading this thread.
oarsinsync 5y ago
> I think the vast majority of people would correctly interpret it as just showing the distance between the end-point and the destination set and I don't think it's necessarily bad UI. If this thread is anything to go by, slim majority at best. > But still, with the popularity of Google maps and potential danger in misinterpreting it, it's probably worth considering ways to make it even clearer. This is the really important point, and thank you for making it. Google Maps is used by 100 of millions (if not billions) of people. If these issues only impact 1% of users, that's still millions of people negatively impacted. At scale, even "niche" issues matter.

p_j_w 5y ago

If you use Google Maps on the regular, you'll be used to a solid blue line (yellow or red if there's traffic) on the car's route. I don't remember the first time I came across the dotted line, but I certainly don't remember having a hard time figuring out what that meant. Apparently this isn't the case for everyone, though. Also, I'm a nove hiker at best, but even I know that there's essentially zero hikes where the shape of the trail is a nice arc across the map like the one in the story. I'm legitimately baffled that anyone would have thought that was a suggested path to the peak.

shock-value 5y ago
The dotted arc could easily be interpreted as “this isn’t the exact path but there is a navigable walking path in the general direction of this line” which is just as unhelpful and potentially dangerous.
asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
You run into the dotted line a lot if you use mass transit directions.

devoutsalsa 5y ago

How about a dotted line where the dots are question marks. A ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B A - ? - ? - ? - ? - B A - - ? -- ? -- ? -- B