Tell me more ×
User Experience Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for user experience researchers and experts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite

I am displaying a list of newsletters like:

  1. Newsletter Jan
  2. Newsletter Feb
  3. Newsletter Mar
  4. Newsletter Apr
  5. Newsletter May

I order them by date so the numeration does not really mean anything and can be confusing having two indicators of order (date and numbers). But the numbers could give extra data on how many newsletters there have been.

What is a better idea? To use bullets or numbers when order this list?

share|improve this question
Would anyone need to know how many newsletters there have been? If that's the case a simple count somewhere might suffice. Generally I would doubt it's use though, and would avoid extra numbering. – Ben Brocka♦ Sep 21 '11 at 21:52
2  
Using those number may create confusion. Suppose there was no newsletter in august. Will september get number 8 then? – Bart Gijssens Sep 22 '11 at 6:34

2 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

4 Newsletters

  • 2010
    • November
    • December
  • 2011
    • January
    • February

Generally, try not to repeat yourself. Don't say the same thing over and over again. Try not to be redundant or repetitive. Say it once. In other words, DRY.

share|improve this answer
+1 for this. Clean layout, easy to find what I want. – Musaab Sep 22 '11 at 12:59
+1 for irony (and for a good answer) – Bennett McElwee Nov 11 '11 at 9:51
up vote 3 down vote

"the numeration does not really mean anything" - that is your clue. The numbers imply a sequential list, whereas this is not actually that, it is a list of dated items, so the numbers are meaningless.

If there is a need to show the number of newsletters, then this is a separate requirement, and is not clearly shown simply by enumerating them. If you were referring to issue numbers, for example, then it might work, but you are not identifying them by issue number, it is date that is the real enumerator.

So, on the basis of what you have said, use bullet points. Otherwise you are introducing ordering information that does not actually add anything to the display, and so should not be used. It only confuses things.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.