137655 - Remove Back and other navigation options from ALL context menus

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(SeaMonkey :: UI Design, defect)

Description

[Matthew Miller]

The new context menu structure is inconsistant. Text on a page is conceptually
at the same context level as images on that same page. Therefore, the navigation
commands (Back, Forward, Reload, Stop) should either appear on both or none.
Otherwise, the user interface quickly becomes frustrating -- see bug #135331.

This applies to the selection context menu (bug #135813) and others as well.

I personally prefer having the navigation commands always available (see bug
#136665, about making this an option) but there's a lot of resistance to that.
Having an inconsistant UI is worse than having commands available or not based 
arbitrarily on the length of the resulting menu. Therefore, the navigation
commands should never appear on context menus.

Comment 1

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

RESOLVED WONTFIX. The arguments given above are not the only way of looking at
this. Specifically, while the context may be viewed as being the same for both
images and boring parts of the page, the possible options are more numerous in
the first case and therefore sacrifices need to be made regarding which groups
of items are shown so as to keep the menus at manageable sizes.

See bug 135331 comment 75.

Comment 2

[Matthew Miller]

I'm not sure you read my whole description -- as I said, the difference of menu
length seems arbitrary and irrational. If menu shortness is of such paramount
importance that navigation commands must be removed, they need to be removed
everywhere or else you end up with an inconsistant interface. Clicking on menus
shouldn't be a surprise.

Images are not, as a class, "more interesting" -- on many many web pages,
there's little hidden spacer images all over, making the act of hunting down a
place that's safe to click for navigation very frustrating.

Comment 3

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

Menu length is paramount, as accepted industry standards on UI will tell you
that the usefulness of a context menu decreases dramatically for even small
increases to the length of the menu. Ask mpt if you want references.

That the menu is inconsistent is arguable. If you take that line of thought to
its extreme, you end up with huge 30+ item context menus where the majority of
the items are disabled, just for the purpose of consistency. As I understand it
(although I do not pretend to be a UI expert) the consistency argument is less
important than the length argument.

I suggest you take further discussion on the subject of context menu principles
to the newsgroup netscape.public.mozilla.ui and cc [e-mail].

Comment 4

[Matthew Miller]

Removing the navigation commands would make the menus both more consistant *and*
shorter -- seems like a double win.

I'm serious about this -- the inconsistancy in bug #135331 bothers me almost as
much as the inconvenience, and I didn't file this just as a rhetorical bug.

In any case, I'm done hashing this out here or in the newsgroup, and I'm sure
marlon (and you, for that matter) have better things to do and things you'd
rather be doing.

Comment 5

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

You could remove all the menu items together and then the menu would be at its
shortest! :-) The navigation menu items are useful, no-one is denying that, all
that is being denied is that it is more critical than the image-specific items
of image context menus.

Comment 6

[Paul Wyskoczka]

v