Drop-down menus are for fonts, not nuclear drills
Jan 16, 2018, 7:43 AM | Updated: 11:14 am
To run a test for a nuclear drill, people should have to do more than select an option in a drop-down menu. (Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat via AP)
(Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat via AP)
I feel for the guy who set off the false alarm in Hawaii. I don’t think this was all his fault.
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First of all, he didn’t actually press a button because the alert system is, of course, computerized. To run the test, you choose from a drop-down menu where the drill message and the not-a-drill message are right next to each other.
“He was supposed to select the option for ‘drill,’ but he clicked the real thing.”
This is what always happens with those drop-down menus, right? So who thought it was a good idea to control a nuclear alert system with a drop-down menu and a mouse click?
A drop-down menu is for choosing a font, not choosing between a drill and an actual warning of nuclear annihilation.
Stuff like this shouldn’t involve drop-down menus or mouse clicks or a screen swipe or, God forbid, voice control.
“Alexa, activate a state-wide nuclear drill.”
“Sorry. I don’t know that one.”
That’s why we put fire alarms behind a cover — so you know it’s serious.
There should be a physical commitment when you sound a real alarm. It should be a giant switch that leaves your elbow sore when you throw it. Not a mouse click. Mouse clicks are for sending tweets and liking things on Facebook.
Though I’m not sure that’s a good idea either.
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