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Contradictory

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tsdragon

tsdragon

Programmer
Dec 18, 2000
5,133
US
A few days ago I say a web store that has, for some items, a dropdown list from which you are required to make a selection. The label for the dropdown list? Mandatory Option


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard. [dragon]
 
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I would say there is a definite possibility of a labelling error there.

[cheers]
Cheers!
Laura
 
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Nice...were you on Oxymoron.com or Orwellspeak.com?
%-)
Thanks!
Elanor
 
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Yikes! Reminds me of our (U.S.) tax system wherein taxpayers file returns through "voluntary" compliance. However, failure to file can be a civil or even criminal offense.

Tim

[blue]_____________________________________________________
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This is funny.

I wonder if this is a case where you have several options, but it is mandatory that you choose one.

You have several options for color: red, blue, green, yellow, or orange; but it's mandatory that you choose one of them.

Good Luck
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We used to joke about the title of a book that the late president (Ernest L. Wilkinson) of Brigham Young University could have authored, "Free Choice and How to Enforce It".

Actually, Tracy, in programming, we encounter Mandatory Options all the time. There are even graphical meta-language conventions in syntax diagrams to represent this case:

Mandatory Options: i.e, you must choose one from the list:
[tt]
... >------ Option 1 ------>
|--- Option 2 ---|
`--- Option 3 ---'
[/tt]
Optional Options: i.e, you may chose an option from the list:
[tt]
... >---------------------->
|--- Option 1 ---|
|--- Option 2 ---|
`--- Option 3 ---'
[/tt]
To proceed at a 'T'-junction in the road, you must choose either to turn left or to turn right...a mandatory option.

So although Mandatory Options "sound" peculiar, we encounter them every day.

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[ Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.
 
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I used to work in the criminal justice field doing data analysis, and here in Texas we used to have what is called Mandatory Supervision, which occurred when an offender's time served plus any time credits recieved (for good behavior, etc.) equaled their sentence length. At that time, it was mandatory that the offender be released on parole supervision...hence "Mandatory Supervision." Well, that became politically charged, and the Mandatory Supervision law was changed to allow the parole board to vote on offenders' release when the criteria were met. I am proud to say that I coined the phrase that is still used in official publications regarding the subject. The phrase is: Discretionary Mandatory Supervision. I was in a meeting with several bigwigs in the prison system, and when the new system was explained to me I said, "So, this is basically Discretionary Mandatory Supervision?", and I even kept a straight face all the while. Someone answered, "Yes, I guess it is,", and the term stuck.

Of course, a more appropriate term would be "Mandatory Review," because the parole board must review an offender's release when the criteria are met. But its been a decade now, and the term I coined is still in use. I chuckle every time I see it.


I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson
 
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Ok, so what are the optional mandatory mandated options?

Glen A. Johnson
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>>Ok, so what are the optional mandatory mandated options?

Sorry Glen, you'll need a copy of Longhorn in order to implement those.

boyd.gif

SweetPotato Software Website
My Blog
 
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CC: That's what it is: there are several options for the size of the can (of peanuts) ordered. You have to pick a size, so it's a mandatory option.

While understanding the logic behind the term, it still galls me to see it put that way. There's got to be a better way to put it:

Mandatory -+ +- Selection
+-> <-+ Choice
Required -+ +- Alternative

Anyone want to add to that. Personally, I think "Required Selection" says it better. (I'm sure there are more than a few people on the web that don't even know what "mandatory" means.)

jebensen: So THAT'S how terms like that come about.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard. [dragon]
 
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Perhaps the problem comes from associating an option with its selection being optional. It is an understandable connection, even though it is not a valid connection.

I like 'required selection'.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
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Choose 1 of the following options"
It implies choice, yet is imperative



cigless ...
 
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Yes, Paul, and how would you label/classify (from a programmatical perspective) the type of implimentation that "Choose 1 of the following options" represents?...a "required selection", "mandatory option", et cetera? Perhaps a "Choose-1-of-the-following-options" thang?

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[ Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.
 
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exactly

(Choose 1) != (Choose 1 or more) != (1 if you could be bothered)

--Paul



cigless ...
 
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Code: 
  `fueltype` enum('petrol','diesel','lpg','biodiesel') NOT NULL default 'petrol',
as it were ;)

--Paul
 
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SantaMufasa said:
"Choose 1 of the following options"
Click to expand...

Perhaps in this case "options" qualifies as one of tgreer's masterfully-coined "word whiskers." The phrase is perfect after the word is shaved.

[blue]"Choose 1 of the following:"[/blue]

Tim

[blue]_____________________________________________________
If you need immediate assistance, please raise your hand.
If you are outside of Raleigh, raise your hand and say[/blue] [red]Ooh! Ooh![/red]
 
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Oh, um, I didn't coin the phrase "word whiskers", you know. It's been around, well, a long time.

Word whiskers in the above:

oh
um
you know
well

It's primarily a verbal phenomenon (sp?), and not without some merit, in that they usually reflect a thoughtful pause. However, many speakers develop a nervous trait of continually repeating the same word whiskers.

Thomas D. Greer

Providing PostScript & PDF
Training, Development & Consulting
 
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Bad assumption on my part, Thomas. I had never heard of "word whiskers" until one of your posts in another thread. Thanks for the clarification, and for my introduction, at least, to word whiskers.

Tim

[blue]_____________________________________________________
If you need immediate assistance, please raise your hand.
If you are outside of Raleigh, raise your hand and say[/blue] [red]Ooh! Ooh![/red]
 
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