Ayun ([info]ayun) wrote,
@ 2009-06-04 17:02:00
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This Is Something I Have Actually Spent Time Thinking About
3:18 PM me: Okay, can I explain why a floppy disc is ok to use as a Save icon if my argument relies heavily on use of the word 'douche?'
  Because it does, and it's a good argument.
3:19 PM workdude: LOL!
  Let's hear it.
3:20 PM me: Ok, the word 'douche' has two meanings right now - one is a sort of generic insult, and one is an archaic obsolete piece of technology.
3:21 PM Somebody a long time ago decided to insult another person by calling him/her a d-bag, as in "you're like this sort of gross thing that collects bodily fluids." I bet ten-year-olds have no idea what a real-life d-bag is, but know that calling someone a d-bag is an insult.
  That's what the floppy disc save icon is - everybody recognizes it as 'save' even if the physical metaphor doesn't hold up anymore.
  I SHOULD HAVE GONE INTO SEMIOTICS.
3:22 PM workdude: LOL!
  I love it!
  That just might be the most awesome justification I've ever heard!
 me: Convincing, right?
3:23 PM workdude: I've been getting some suggestions from my Twitterfolk. An arrow pointing into a folder seems to be a common one, but I'm not sure it's as obvious as a disk icon.
3:24 PM me: I did a google image search on 'save' - the best one was a piggy bank. :)
 workdude: LOL! That was another suggestion, but would be tough to draw at 20x20 pixels.
3:25 PM But it'd be cute, so I'm all for trying!
 me: "save icon" was a ton of floppy discs, an arrow and something that looks like an inbox (SPEAKING OF OBSOLETE THINGS WE STILL USE AS METAPHORS!), and one happy face.
3:26 PM workdude: I'm kinda grooving on the idea of using a 5-1/4" disk icon, just to be a bit tongue-in-cheek about it.

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[info]loxocele
2009-06-05 01:05 am UTC (link)
A+.

*grins*

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[info]ayun
2009-06-05 03:41 pm UTC (link)
Are you proud of me for taking the conversation 'offline' instead of derailing a meeting to talk about douchebags, too? Because holding myself back took some effort.

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[info]loxocele
2009-06-05 08:30 pm UTC (link)
oh wow, that didn't even occur to me. (though perhaps it should have; i was a chronic tangential-topic meeting derailler, back when i went to meetings.)

even aside from using a funny analogy to make a valid point, anything that combines references to such disparate areas as "semiotics" and "douchebaggery" is a-ok in my book. :)

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[info]encyclops
2009-06-05 07:09 pm UTC (link)
That is fucking awesome on pretty much every level.

And where I work, I could totally have that conversation. And might need to.

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[info]ayun
2009-06-08 09:22 pm UTC (link)
We've definitely got a, uh, casual team culture. Which is awfully lucky for me.

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