|
|
Posted by Ed on 12/10/96 11:35
Jukka K. Korpela wrote:
> Ed <ex@directory> wrote:
>
>
>>A drop down down list does force a certain level of consistency in the
>>answers
>
>
> Only if users are nice. They should not be expected to be.
>
>
>>and makes counting the replies relatively straightforward if
>>that is the intention.
>
>
> This is actually a _risk_ in a drop down list: it makes you think you can
> avoid checking the incoming data in the form handler. It then becomes
> vulnerable to even the most trivial attacks.
>
>
>>Once you start asking people what country they live in, or come from,
>>you can end up with all sorts of problems. For example, try asking
>>someone born anywhere in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
>>Northern Ireland (that is the official name). You could then get replies
>>ranging through:
>>
>>England
>>Northern Ireland
>>Scotland
>>Wales
>>Isle of Man
>>UK
>>Great Britain
>>Britain
>
>
> Right. So accept them all, or accept just one and link to a document that
> lists the countries as you see it.
>
> If you use a drop down list, how is the British user expected to guess
> whether whether he should look for his country under "E", "B", "G", or "U"
> (or something else) in a list of two hundred countries?
>
>
>>Republic of Ireland
>>(Or is it Eire, or Ireland, but without the North!!)
>
>
> Well, according to official EU policy, even the _full_ name (long name,
> diplomatic protocol name) of the country is "Ireland". I guess that's because
> the Irish government wants it that way.
>
I dispute most of the comments/replies that you have made here. But it
would be way off-topic to discuss further in this forum.
But the earlier advice was excellent i.e. the webmaster must ask the
RIGHT question.
So, in the case that the OP presented, the question might be 'From the
drop down list, please select the option that *** best *** describes
your place of birth'. Or something along those lines. I don't want to
argue further on the exact phraseology. What is important, is that the
webmaster strives to get the information that (s)he REALLY wants.
And possibly the list should also include the option 'Other' or some
such equivalent for people who cannot make a choice from the list that
is offered.
Yours truly,
Ed
Republic Of Ireland
Navigation:
[Reply to this message]
|