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jfkelley's definitions

magpie navigation

A method by which some users choose their path through websites, i.e., by clicking on the "shiny" buttons and links, with little regard for the information architecture or existing navigation hierarchy.
We made the happy path buttons larger and bright blue to facilitate magpie navigation.
by jfkelley March 20, 2013
mugGet the magpie navigationmug.

visual containment

In visual/UI design, a stylistic convention whereby objects and content that belong and/or act together are visually grouped together.
Placing the edit button above the section header violates the principle of visual containment. It' s not visually obvious WHAT is being edited.
by jfkelley May 28, 2016
mugGet the visual containmentmug.

user-hostile

A play on the common term "user-friendly", a user-hostile design is one that is, deliberately or accidentally, difficult or cumbersome for the intended user.

Often used derisively to describe the competition.
We intend to improve upon the user-hostile design of your existing sales tool.

Some say that the user-hostile design of the original QWERTY keyboard was an intentional effort to slow typists down so as not to allow them to jam the mechanical parts.
by jfkelley June 16, 2009
mugGet the user-hostilemug.

e-spoke

To have communicated with someone via chat. Can also be used in the present tense (though less effectively) as e-speek.
I e-spoke with the client yesterday and he gave the go-ahead.
by jfkelley February 28, 2009
mugGet the e-spokemug.

defuct

A high-severity defect that leaves the system in a very bad state. (noun)

Etymology: a combination of "defect" and the adjective form of a common 4-letter slang word derived from the latin fvccant which, in common parlance means to have been cheated.

Alternate definition: an unlikely condition of having regained ones virginity (but this would probably require a homophonic spelling).
I logged two defects on the layout and a defuct about the server crash.
by jfkelley June 19, 2009
mugGet the defuctmug.

Went Linear

To respond by losing one's sense of perspective and becoming agitated in the extreme.

Possibly borrowed from meteorology. A cellular storm "goes linear" when it turns into more of a squall line (or merges with an existing storm) -- i.e., that it's going to turn into a big black line of death. (from stormtrack.org).

I have a sense that there should also be a nuclear physics metaphor, but I don't know it.
My boss went linear when I showed him my expense report.
by jfkelley October 12, 2009
mugGet the Went Linearmug.

koyanaskatsi

noun: A Hopi word meaning "life out of balance" or "life that calls for another way of living".

Also a 1982 film film directed by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass (no plot, no dialog, just haunting images and music -- really conveys the point about the spiritually impoverished way that western civilization is living).
I've been working too much, my life is really koyanaskatsi right now.
by jfkelley June 16, 2009
mugGet the koyanaskatsimug.

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