Of HIG, Apple, and User-Centric Design

[Robert Brenstein]

>>>>  A checkbox I can't uncheck is a surprise.
>>>>[snip]
>
>
>>But there is a difference whether the checkbox is enabled or not. A disabled
>>checkbox is inactive, so it is perfectly normal that it can't be unchecked.
>>However, the same is not true if that checkbox is enabled. Once it 
>>is enabled,
>>one should be able to toggle its state.
>
>
>Absolutely - this is a simple matter of having a choice which only 
>applies if other conditions are in a particular state. The 
>alternative would be to hide the checkbox completely unless the 
>state called for it, but this isn't quite as 'open' an approach to 
>UI design - and isn't necessarily as kind and helpful to the user.
>
>k

But if I recall the original of this long-running thread, someone 
wanted to use a checkbox to indicate a state of connection or 
something and thus the checkbox did not allow to toggle the state. I 
agree with early responders that in this situation, a checkbox is a 
wrong object to use. A graphical or textual status display should be 
used instead.

Robert