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> Users don't have the mental model to differentiate search terms and a URL Why don't they? This is a somewhat serious question. Part of it, in my opinion, is
by sseagull 5y ago
> Users don't have the mental model to differentiate search terms and a URL
Why don't they? This is a somewhat serious question.
Part of it, in my opinion, is we are moving too fast, and giving up on users to quickly. With enough education, people will understand. But enough education = at least a generation or two, introducing it in schools at a young age, etc. But we just threw our hands up and said "oh well, they don't get it, lets make it simple".
URL = phone number. Search box = Phone book. They are two very different things, and having them both in the same box I feel confuses some people even more.
- darkerside 5y agoBut it's not phone number vs phone book. It's phone number vs automated operator that will connect you where you are trying to go. I am technical and I often just search instead of URL just because it requires less precision. Google is just DNS with a few extra steps.
- sseagull 5y agoOk, it's going to find a book on the shelf by its author/title or dewey decimal number, vs. looking it up in the card catalog by subject (and then going to the shelf). That should appeal to the older crowd.