[WEB4LIB] RE: Mailto vs. forms

[rich at richardwiggins.com]

There's no one best practice here...

Forms-only feedback interfaces can be frustrating to the user.  It is nice to be able to direct carbon copies of your note, which is often a complaint if it's on a feedback form, for your own records.  Forms can allow the user to enter his/her own email address, but what if they enter it wrong?

As for choice, that's great for a relatively sophisticated clientele that demands it, but some people in some audiences are going to be confused by the choice, no matter how well you word it.

Back in 1993 I suggested people use forms instead of Mailto because so many people didn't have a mail client configured.  Today, as others point out a lot of people may not have the right mail client configured, or they may use Web-based mail.  So if you offer Mailto ONLY you will lose some feedback (folks may not be persistent enough to copy the Mailto link into an external program).

/rich





On Thu, 23 August 2001, George Porter wrote:

> 
> Before getting too righteous about mailto VS. forms, what, pray tell, is
> preventing the library from providing both methods of feedback?  The Caltech
> Library System web team received strong feedback from faculty and some
> students that they wanted to be able to send email, not be limited to forms.
> Reasons expressed included:
> 
> retaining copies of sent mail
> ability to cc: or bcc:
> 
> What's "easiest" for the library to offer is hardly relevant in any aspect
> of web design or technology support.  The overriding factors, IMHO, are the
> needs and desires of your primary clientele.  Unless there are major
> technological strictures preventing you from offering the communications
> format(s) of their preference, give THEM the choice.
> 
> George S. Porter
> Sherman Fairchild Library of Engineering & Applied Science
> Caltech, 1-43
> Pasadena, CA  91125-4300
> Telephone (626) 395-3409 Fax (626) 431-2681

_____________________________________________________

Richard Wiggins
Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on the Internet
rich at richardwiggins.com  http://richardwiggins.com