4 ms·

For anyone as confused as I was, this article is not about toasted bread [1], but about a type of UI widget [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(food)

For anyone as confused as I was, this article is not about toasted bread [1], but about a type of UI widget [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(food) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(food) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toast_(computing) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toast_(computing)

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
baking 2y ago
Should have been called "pop-tarts."
- youssefabdelm 2y ago
  They're not fun enough for a name like that
kzrdude 2y ago
Where does the name toast come from anyway?
- azornathogron 2y ago
  Toast "pops up" from the toaster when it's done.
  - gertrunde 2y ago
    That does make a certain amount of sense... much more sense than https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) which for some weird, unexplainable reason my brain had decided was where the name came from...
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    In all of the years I've been dealing with "toasts", I never realized this until just now. I always thought it was some kind of weird reference to toasting with a drink or something. Update: On consideration, I think my disconnect was because the plural of the notification method is "toasts", but the plural of the recooked bread slices is "toast". The plural of benedictions given prior to a drink is "toasts". So I mentally connected up with that.
- stoperaticless 2y ago
  I assume based on this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) > A toast is a ritual during which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill.
- inopinatus 2y ago
  It was originally the name of a popular CD burning application for the Mac. Only much later, following the discovery of bread, did the term become popular for describing a slice browned by radiant heat.
marssaxman 2y ago
Thank you! That did puzzle me, especially because I had pulled some bread out of a toaster just seconds before sitting down to read Hacker News this morning.
FatalLogic 2y ago
It's ironic that a person writing about poor communication paradigms didn't explain what "toast" means here. It's the most important word on their page, and it's obvious that some people, even technically-minded folks, don't understand the jargon. But could be they got extra engagement from readers who are interested in baking and breakfast recipes?
- phito 2y ago
  It's just that it's a post made by a web developper for their web developper audience. Safe to assume they know what a Toast Notification is.
  - _yb2s 2y ago
    I’ve done a lot of web development and never heard the term. I even use them a lot but called them popup notifications or other terms. I’ve used lots of frontend toolkits that call these something else.
    - dev213 2y ago
      Pretty much every well-known UI library, including Bootstrap, Angular Material/MUI & Chakra UI, calls these Toasts.
      - _yb2s 2y ago
        Interesting... I am a longtime Bootstrap user, and they offer a large number of other things that can be configured for the same purpose- alerts, popovers, modals, etc. I've never actually noticed the toasts component itself, but have done the same thing with other components. I wonder if the feature was added after I started using bootstrap ~14 years ago, and I mostly just kept using the components I was used to. Looking at it, I don't see myself using it because of the 'dismiss' button. I don't like things that obscure the UI, or encourage unneeded extra interaction, when I can pass info to the user without doing that.
CRConrad 2y ago
Bah, you think you were confused? I thought it was about toasting, as in with drinks. (Yeah sure, "Are Bad UX" -- but since when is "Cheers!" a software metaphor? Weird AF.)
- hunter2_ 2y ago
  Seems like it could live among these: > We currently demand that users internalize several metaphors when interacting with Homebrew. These include: > Formula (how to build a bit of software) > Bottle (pre-built software) > Cask (pre-built software on macOS) > Tap (a collection of software) > Keg (where software installs itself) > Cellar (where all my software install themselves) > As well as an additional number of less-common metaphors that contributors and maintainers need to know, like Rack, Tab, and Formulary. https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/issues/10798 https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/issues/10798
  - xyst 2y ago
    the brew creator was just really into beer crafting. I probably do the same with some of my passion projects without realizing it
  - zahlman 2y ago
    It seems like they put a lot of effort into trying to create a coherent extended metaphor, yet it doesn't make any sense. You create a tap by putting bottles and casks together, and then it puts itself into a keg? Your own cellar is a prototype for someone else's keg?
  - akerr 2y ago
    The Homebrew nouns are one thing. It’s the verbs that trip me up: update/upgrade is different to everything else on the Mac but at least is familiar to me from Debian but then I mix up list, info, show etc.
dang 2y ago
Thanks! I pinned the second link to the top: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41304011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41304011. Would it be ok to assign you as the author of that comment? I don't want to take credit for your link.
- clarkdale 2y ago
  I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think it's fair that you (a moderator) should be allowed to pin comments to the top. There may be dozens of helpful links sharing or clarifying context in the discussion. The community can use the upvote feature to sort comments. Exceptions might be made in cases of misinformation or abuse.
  - dang 2y ago
    Don't be sorry - that's a great point! I guess for me the "pin the comment" thing is a workaround for a limitation in the software that we haven't had a chance to fix it—that is, there should be a way in the standard HN UI to associate multiple links with a story (including the archive links that many users post into the threads). Whatever mechanism we build for that, it will certainly be community-driven in the sense that users will be the ones submitting alternative links, and perhaps voting on their relevance somehow. This is related to karma too, of course. That doesn't resolve your objection, which I think is legit. But I wanted to share why I do that. There are other forms of pinned comment too, such as the "if you're going to comment in this thread, please make sure you're follwing the site guidelines" admonishment that I sometimes put into threads on inflammatory topics.
    - dredmorbius 2y ago
      One of my personal conventions on stories with many duplicate submissions is to try to list those sources within the first / main discussion. Recent example: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41248551 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41248551> (I haven't hit on a standard notation for this though I've noted "other submissions" in some cases.) Karma, schwarama.
- 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

baking 2y ago

Should have been called "pop-tarts."

youssefabdelm 2y ago
They're not fun enough for a name like that

kzrdude 2y ago

Where does the name toast come from anyway?

azornathogron 2y ago
Toast "pops up" from the toaster when it's done.
- gertrunde 2y ago
  That does make a certain amount of sense... much more sense than https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) which for some weird, unexplainable reason my brain had decided was where the name came from...
- JohnFen 2y ago
  In all of the years I've been dealing with "toasts", I never realized this until just now. I always thought it was some kind of weird reference to toasting with a drink or something. Update: On consideration, I think my disconnect was because the plural of the notification method is "toasts", but the plural of the recooked bread slices is "toast". The plural of benedictions given prior to a drink is "toasts". So I mentally connected up with that.
stoperaticless 2y ago
I assume based on this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(honor) > A toast is a ritual during which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill.
inopinatus 2y ago
It was originally the name of a popular CD burning application for the Mac. Only much later, following the discovery of bread, did the term become popular for describing a slice browned by radiant heat.

marssaxman 2y ago

Thank you! That did puzzle me, especially because I had pulled some bread out of a toaster just seconds before sitting down to read Hacker News this morning.

FatalLogic 2y ago

It's ironic that a person writing about poor communication paradigms didn't explain what "toast" means here. It's the most important word on their page, and it's obvious that some people, even technically-minded folks, don't understand the jargon. But could be they got extra engagement from readers who are interested in baking and breakfast recipes?

phito 2y ago
It's just that it's a post made by a web developper for their web developper audience. Safe to assume they know what a Toast Notification is.
- _yb2s 2y ago
  I’ve done a lot of web development and never heard the term. I even use them a lot but called them popup notifications or other terms. I’ve used lots of frontend toolkits that call these something else.
  - dev213 2y ago
    Pretty much every well-known UI library, including Bootstrap, Angular Material/MUI & Chakra UI, calls these Toasts.
    - _yb2s 2y ago
      Interesting... I am a longtime Bootstrap user, and they offer a large number of other things that can be configured for the same purpose- alerts, popovers, modals, etc. I've never actually noticed the toasts component itself, but have done the same thing with other components. I wonder if the feature was added after I started using bootstrap ~14 years ago, and I mostly just kept using the components I was used to. Looking at it, I don't see myself using it because of the 'dismiss' button. I don't like things that obscure the UI, or encourage unneeded extra interaction, when I can pass info to the user without doing that.

CRConrad 2y ago

Bah, you think you were confused? I thought it was about toasting, as in with drinks. (Yeah sure, "Are Bad UX" -- but since when is "Cheers!" a software metaphor? Weird AF.)

hunter2_ 2y ago
Seems like it could live among these: > We currently demand that users internalize several metaphors when interacting with Homebrew. These include: > Formula (how to build a bit of software) > Bottle (pre-built software) > Cask (pre-built software on macOS) > Tap (a collection of software) > Keg (where software installs itself) > Cellar (where all my software install themselves) > As well as an additional number of less-common metaphors that contributors and maintainers need to know, like Rack, Tab, and Formulary. https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/issues/10798 https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/issues/10798
- xyst 2y ago
  the brew creator was just really into beer crafting. I probably do the same with some of my passion projects without realizing it
- zahlman 2y ago
  It seems like they put a lot of effort into trying to create a coherent extended metaphor, yet it doesn't make any sense. You create a tap by putting bottles and casks together, and then it puts itself into a keg? Your own cellar is a prototype for someone else's keg?
- akerr 2y ago
  The Homebrew nouns are one thing. It’s the verbs that trip me up: update/upgrade is different to everything else on the Mac but at least is familiar to me from Debian but then I mix up list, info, show etc.

dang 2y ago

Thanks! I pinned the second link to the top: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41304011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41304011. Would it be ok to assign you as the author of that comment? I don't want to take credit for your link.

clarkdale 2y ago
I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think it's fair that you (a moderator) should be allowed to pin comments to the top. There may be dozens of helpful links sharing or clarifying context in the discussion. The community can use the upvote feature to sort comments. Exceptions might be made in cases of misinformation or abuse.
- dang 2y ago
  Don't be sorry - that's a great point! I guess for me the "pin the comment" thing is a workaround for a limitation in the software that we haven't had a chance to fix it—that is, there should be a way in the standard HN UI to associate multiple links with a story (including the archive links that many users post into the threads). Whatever mechanism we build for that, it will certainly be community-driven in the sense that users will be the ones submitting alternative links, and perhaps voting on their relevance somehow. This is related to karma too, of course. That doesn't resolve your objection, which I think is legit. But I wanted to share why I do that. There are other forms of pinned comment too, such as the "if you're going to comment in this thread, please make sure you're follwing the site guidelines" admonishment that I sometimes put into threads on inflammatory topics.
  - dredmorbius 2y ago
    One of my personal conventions on stories with many duplicate submissions is to try to list those sources within the first / main discussion. Recent example: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41248551 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41248551> (I haven't hit on a standard notation for this though I've noted "other submissions" in some cases.) Karma, schwarama.
2y ago