From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: splite@purdue.edu
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: [9fans] scrollbar
Message-ID: <20040304190457.GA11430@sigint.cs.purdue.edu>
References: <81132473206F3A46A72BD6116E1A06AE056164@black.aprote.com> <7C36814D-6DFF-11D8-87B0-000A95B984D8@mightycheese.com>
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Date: Thu,  4 Mar 2004 14:04:57 -0500
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On Thu, Mar 04, 2004 at 09:15:07AM -0800, Rob Pike wrote:
> >Windows/MacOS constantly place the scrollbar on right.
> >X/Plan9 constantly place it on left.
> >
> >Is there some reasoning behind this logic?
> 
> when i wrote my first scroll bar, back around 1980, i'd only seen
> them on the left because that's where xerox put them.  later, when
> they started appearing on the right, i wondered why, since it was
> obvious that with a left-to-right language the odds are the mouse
> is closer to the left edge than the right.  (as i type this, the entire
> left half of my window is blank.)  so you'll have to ask the windows
> and apple guys why they reversed the smalltalk decision.

Why ask the Windows guys?  They likely just copied the Apple guys.

My guess would be rightie aesthetics.

As someone mentioned, having the cursor hotspot on the left edge means that
the cursor will usually obstruct some text with a left-side scrollbar.
They could have used a right-pointing cursor instead, but that looks
and feels odd to a right-handed mouse user.  There's also the feeling
(at least for righties) that you're "reaching over" the window contents
to get to the scrollbar.

Further, precisely because most (Western) text is left-justified, the mostly
empty right side of the window helps the scrollbar stand out as a distinct
target, rather than being subsumed in the left-side clutter.  If the mouse
is already in the window, it's also easier for righties to hit a right-side
scrollbar as the hand can position the mouse more precisely when the fingers
and thumb are curling in toward the palm.

Personally, I find it less distracting when reading text to have the
scrollbar out of the way on the right.  My eyes seldom have to traverse
the window all the way to the right edge, but they're constantly refocusing
on the left edge, which is easier when it's uniform.

(Sorry to go all Tognazzini on y'all.)