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The icon should depict a muted speaker and shouldn't change. Then add a LED-like dot to show when the function is active.

dylan604 3y ago
I always appreciated Mackie's Rude Solo Light. It was very difficult to not realize it was enabled.
pilgrim0 3y ago
This nails it! It’s essentially equivalent to a Boolean property, muted = true|false.
sgc 3y ago
Not as unambiguous as it sounds. My keyboard has an led that lights up when the speaker or microphone is muted. But the camera only lights up when it is on. Do we want to show when the function is active, or when the device being controlled is active? I would say the latter is generally better, since it indicates a potential vulnerability / exposure. But then we have to deal with security devices!
- teo_zero 3y ago
  The LED should be on when the function is on. The function is whatever the icon depicts. If the icon is a loudspeaker, then the LED should be on when the audio is on; but if the icon is a microphone with a bar across it, the LED should be on when the mic is off. I have a button labelled "ASR OFF" in my car. Its LED is on when ASR is off and vice versa. I don't find it confusing. Another example: my TV has a standby LED. It's off when the TV is on, and on when the TV is sleeping. Again, I find it correct.
  - sgc 3y ago
    Then we need to standardize how we name functions. For example, never talk about a mute function, but just sound on. All function names should indicating turning something on, and never off, or vice-versa.
    - lstamour 3y ago
      I absolutely agree with this. Especially with buttons that toggle state, you need to be careful to use the right terminology. But I think we can say “Mute on” and be understood: TVs would often display text like “Mute on” while silencing the volume and the status would disappear when the mute button was pressed again. Likewise, adjusting the volume should turn off mute, and doing so would hide the “Mute on” text. It bothers me when a website tells me a video’s sound is off or “click the tiny mute button to unmute and listen to this,” I’d often instead prefer that the video start playing without sound to get my attention but then stop and wait for me to interact with it. And if I interact, just throw up a countdown timer that says “Video starting (with audio) in 10 seconds…” and toss in a cancel button. Alternatively, forget the unmute toggle and show a giant volume slider. Let me drag the volume to the level I want it to be at and I won’t be surprised if it’s suddenly unmuted and too loud. We really need to work on these conventions a bit more…

dylan604 3y ago

I always appreciated Mackie's Rude Solo Light. It was very difficult to not realize it was enabled.

pilgrim0 3y ago

This nails it! It’s essentially equivalent to a Boolean property, muted = true|false.

sgc 3y ago

Not as unambiguous as it sounds. My keyboard has an led that lights up when the speaker or microphone is muted. But the camera only lights up when it is on. Do we want to show when the function is active, or when the device being controlled is active? I would say the latter is generally better, since it indicates a potential vulnerability / exposure. But then we have to deal with security devices!

teo_zero 3y ago
The LED should be on when the function is on. The function is whatever the icon depicts. If the icon is a loudspeaker, then the LED should be on when the audio is on; but if the icon is a microphone with a bar across it, the LED should be on when the mic is off. I have a button labelled "ASR OFF" in my car. Its LED is on when ASR is off and vice versa. I don't find it confusing. Another example: my TV has a standby LED. It's off when the TV is on, and on when the TV is sleeping. Again, I find it correct.
- sgc 3y ago
  Then we need to standardize how we name functions. For example, never talk about a mute function, but just sound on. All function names should indicating turning something on, and never off, or vice-versa.
  - lstamour 3y ago
    I absolutely agree with this. Especially with buttons that toggle state, you need to be careful to use the right terminology. But I think we can say “Mute on” and be understood: TVs would often display text like “Mute on” while silencing the volume and the status would disappear when the mute button was pressed again. Likewise, adjusting the volume should turn off mute, and doing so would hide the “Mute on” text. It bothers me when a website tells me a video’s sound is off or “click the tiny mute button to unmute and listen to this,” I’d often instead prefer that the video start playing without sound to get my attention but then stop and wait for me to interact with it. And if I interact, just throw up a countdown timer that says “Video starting (with audio) in 10 seconds…” and toss in a cancel button. Alternatively, forget the unmute toggle and show a giant volume slider. Let me drag the volume to the level I want it to be at and I won’t be surprised if it’s suddenly unmuted and too loud. We really need to work on these conventions a bit more…