[Suggestion] Change wording from YOUR towards MY

[erich37]

I would suggest to change the wording from "YOUR" towards "MY" on the following:

- Your Account
- Your Content
- Your Notifications
- Your News Feed
etc.

it is much more intuitive when it reads:
- My Account
- My Content
- My Notifications
- My News Feed
etc.

 

[Kier]

I'd drop 'Your' completely if it weren't for some problematic phrases:

• People you follow
• Your content

What do you suggest they become, if we don't use you/your or I/my (ugh)

 

[Enigma]

• "Followees" (j/k), maybe "Followed members", no, just use "Following". Or "Members being followed" if you want to be more verbose.
• "Created content"? or "Content created".

 

[Kim]

I'd drop 'Your' completely if it weren't for some problematic phrases:

• People you follow
• Your content

What do you suggest they become, if we don't use you/your or I/my (ugh)

hmm interesting, and yeah you have a point, I can see that those could be problematic.

People you follow *is* a bit tricky to reword, perhaps just "Following..."

Your Content could become "Content", however I can see how that might be too generalised unless it somehow specified it was Content created by you.

 

[CBI Web]

Personally, neither one ever bothered me nor made me feel this way or that. Athough some things, like MySQL, always seemed a bit odd. I wonder how YourSQL would go over?

 

[Mike]

Personally, neither one ever bothered me nor made me feel this way or that. Athough some things, like MySQL, always seemed a bit odd. I wonder how YourSQL would go over?

That's not a great example, because "My" isn't the my-your thing. It's the name of Monty's (the original developer) daughter.

 

[CBI Web]

Aha, I wasn't aware of that! But like I said it's no biggie to me anyway; and after reading this thread I would agree that "Your" does make more sense.

 

[dutchbb]

Hm I've been thinking about it, at first I was on the 'My' side, now more on the 'Your' side. It makes sense indeed because the site shows you options to pick from. 'My' would be more suitable for things like folders on your computer that you created yourself. My pictures, my files.... Although it is not like that on a Mac. And Apple knows something about UI.

I'd drop 'Your' completely if it weren't for some problematic phrases:
People you follow
Your content
What do you suggest they become, if we don't use you/your or I/my (ugh)

Following
Personal content

But why does it need to be an all or nothing decision? If some things sound better with 'your' then it should stay that way imo

 

[Jesepi]

I'd drop 'Your' completely if it weren't for some problematic phrases:

• People you follow
• Your content

What do you suggest they become, if we don't use you/your or I/my (ugh)

• Followed Members / Watched Members
• Submitted Content

 

[HannahP]

I always use "your" when labeling objects in a social context.

The way I see it, "your" reinforces the social interaction taking place here. As others have already mentioned, it is how another person would most likely address you when talking about your stuff. "My", on the other hand, imitates the user's point of view. It's as if the user went around their room with post-it notes labeling various items: my monitor, my chair, etc. Except, in this case, the user hasn't done this, the UI designer did it for them.

The whole point of XenForo is to encourage people to open up and converse with other users on the site, so it makes sense to avoid introversion -- and avoiding the use of "my" is just but one way of trying to accomplish that goal.

Well you've simply rearranged the words on this Designing Social Interfaces page and posted them as your own, haven't you. I would call that plagiarism if I were the presumptuous type.

I prefer them things, thingies or whatchamacallits. But I don't expect anyone to pick those up and run with them. They are too far ahead of their time.

 

[Jason]

Well you've simply rearranged the words on this Designing Social Interfaces page and posted them as your own, haven't you. I would call that plagiarism if I were the presumptuous type.

I prefer them things, thingies or whatchamacallits. But I don't expect anyone to pick those up and run with them. They are too far ahead of their time.

Interesting. If anything, paraphrased (though I've never seen the page you cited). I have read countless books on the subject, and have sat through a few lectures, which have greatly shaped my view on the subject and how I try to articulate it.

 

[Kim]

Interesting. If anything, paraphrased (though I've never seen the page you cited). I have read countless books on the subject, and have sat through a few lectures, which have greatly shaped my view on the subject and how I try to articulate it.

Read, compared, and Conclusion drawn. The only similarity is the subject matter.

You actually said it more succinctly.

 

[HannahP]

The only similarity is the subject matter.

You know, you're absolutely right. I don't know what I was thinking.

---

Crumlish/Malone: The possessive pronoun [...] can reinforce either a social or solipsistic state of mind
Jason: As I see it, the use of "My" reinforces a solipsistic state of mind

Crumlish/Malone: Objects labeled "My" on behalf of a user ... give the feeling of an impersonal ... robotic valet or assistant, identifying items as if by proxy.
Jason: Labeling objects as "My" on behalf of the user just comes off as robotic, impersonal, as if identifying them by proxy.

Crumlish/Malone: It is how another human being might address you when talking about your stuff.
Jason: it is how another person would most likely address you when talking about your stuff.

Crumlish/Malone: we want to avoid the call of introversion and instead encourage our participants to open themselves up to the possibility of conversation
Jason: encourage people to open up and converse with other users on the site, so it makes sense to avoid introversion

Crumlish/Malone: If a site has the feel of a bathroom cabinet
Jason: If XenForo was meant to feel like your medicine cabinet

Crumlish/Malone: "My" imitates the point of view of the user
Jason: "My", on the other hand, imitates the user's point of view

Crumlish/Malone: It is as if the user has printed out labels and stuck them to various objects:
Jason: It's as if the user went around their room with post-it notes labeling various items:

 

[Mike]

Can we move on from that please? It's not helping the thread at all.

 

[Kier]

Actually, I think this thread has run its course. We've stated our position.