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I'm pretty sure that whole "pedestrians defining the sidewalks" thing is actually a myth. It may happen sometimes nowaways since the myth is now so widespread b

by smokinn 17y ago

I'm pretty sure that whole "pedestrians defining the sidewalks" thing is actually a myth. It may happen sometimes nowaways since the myth is now so widespread but it's associated with so many schools now that I can't possibly tell if any of them actually ever did it. (And I'm pretty sure the majority didn't.) My favourite example is when I hear that Berkley did it which doesn't seem at a plausible given articles like this: http://www.peterme.com/?p=18 http://www.peterme.com/?p=18 that point out how they went out of their way to break the natural flow of pedestrians.

ojbyrne 17y ago
There's a comment on that page that says that Larry Wall says it was at UC Irvine. Though obviously it could still be a myth.
nostrademons 17y ago
My elementary school was shaped like an L. And the path from the cafeteria to the playground followed the edges of the building, with a 90 degree turn at the inside corner of the L. The hypotenuse between ends of the L went through a hilly, wooded area. Every day, at lunchtime, there were repeated admonishments to stay on the path and do not cut through the woods. And every day, immediately after lunch, someone (and oftentimes everyone) would run through the woods along the hypotenuse to get to the playground. They tried all sorts of tricks to get us to stay on the path. They threatened instant detention for anyone caught cutting through the woods. They stationed one of the teachers aides to physically catch people who were about to stray from the path. It still didn't work, because there were so many people that broke the rules that they couldn't catch all of them. Finally, when I returned for 3rd grade, I found that a roughly 10-foot-wide swath of the woods had been cut down, and a newly-paved asphalt path ran through it. And nobody ever took the long way around again. I think it was removed, long after I left, when the school building was enlarged. Sometimes, it's easier to listen to your users (even if they are 5-10 year olds) than keep fighting them.

by smokinn 17y ago

ojbyrne 17y ago

There's a comment on that page that says that Larry Wall says it was at UC Irvine. Though obviously it could still be a myth.

nostrademons 17y ago

My elementary school was shaped like an L. And the path from the cafeteria to the playground followed the edges of the building, with a 90 degree turn at the inside corner of the L. The hypotenuse between ends of the L went through a hilly, wooded area. Every day, at lunchtime, there were repeated admonishments to stay on the path and do not cut through the woods. And every day, immediately after lunch, someone (and oftentimes everyone) would run through the woods along the hypotenuse to get to the playground. They tried all sorts of tricks to get us to stay on the path. They threatened instant detention for anyone caught cutting through the woods. They stationed one of the teachers aides to physically catch people who were about to stray from the path. It still didn't work, because there were so many people that broke the rules that they couldn't catch all of them. Finally, when I returned for 3rd grade, I found that a roughly 10-foot-wide swath of the woods had been cut down, and a newly-paved asphalt path ran through it. And nobody ever took the long way around again. I think it was removed, long after I left, when the school building was enlarged. Sometimes, it's easier to listen to your users (even if they are 5-10 year olds) than keep fighting them.