Comments on: Normalize Their Names In A Web-Form http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/ i Code to help you profit! Tue, 6 Jan 2009 03:52:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 by: erzwodezwo http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-277 Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:45:35 +0000 http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-277 Hello Michel! You cannot imagine how long I was searching for something like this. Thank You so much!! Hello Michel! You cannot imagine how long I was searching for something like this. Thank You so much!!

]]> by: barney http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-111 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 23:01:11 +0000 http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-111 Michel, There is a problem here. Mind you, it is not a towering problem ... except, perhaps, to those that it affects . My name is barney ... it is not Barney, it is barney. There are personal, emotional reasons for the lower-case spelling. I don't intend to go into them. But they are significant _to me_. Couple of years ago I was on a developer's list, WDVL, I believe it was. There was another member, a young lady, name of Tyme, with a name problem. Her problem was a single name. She had legally altered her name to the single word, Tyme. Most entry forms insisted that she have two names at a minimum, a first and a last. She didn't. So the form effectively forced her to lie in order for her to complete the form. That's not relevant to the normalization script, but it is part of the same problem. When you normalize my name, you are no longer speaking to me. Barney is another living person. But Barney is not me, barney is me. It may seem insignificant to you, but when you change the way I spell my name, you disrespect me. I resent it. I may walk away because of it. And you lose the sale. I understand the need for standardization internally, perhaps for database searches, perhaps for other reasons. But even if you do use some normalized form of my name for your own purposes, store and address me by the name I gave you. If I have a single name, don't force me to provide _what you consider to be_ a name. Use the one I give you, as I give it to you. Believe me, I'll notice that you do so ... and it will have an impact upon my decision whether to buy from you. (Side issue, but related: I have no title. I did not inherit a title; I have not been awarded a title. Don't force me to use one if I do not provide one: I am not Mr. Ms. Mrs., or Miss. If you want to know my gender or marital state, ask ... but give me the option of refusing to answer. Bottom line, normalize all you want for your internal usage, but *don't* normalize *me*! Michel,
There is a problem here. Mind you, it is not a towering problem … except, perhaps, to those that it affects .

My name is barney … it is not Barney, it is barney. There are personal, emotional reasons for the lower-case spelling. I don’t intend to go into them. But they are significant _to me_.

Couple of years ago I was on a developer’s list, WDVL, I believe it was. There was another member, a young lady, name of Tyme, with a name problem. Her problem was a single name. She had legally altered her name to the single word, Tyme.

Most entry forms insisted that she have two names at a minimum, a first and a last. She didn’t. So the form effectively forced her to lie in order for her to complete the form. That’s not relevant to the normalization script, but it is part of the same problem.

When you normalize my name, you are no longer speaking to me. Barney is another living person. But Barney is not me, barney is me. It may seem insignificant to you, but when you change the way I spell my name, you disrespect me. I resent it. I may walk away because of it. And you lose the sale.

I understand the need for standardization internally, perhaps for database searches, perhaps for other reasons. But even if you do use some normalized form of my name for your own purposes, store and address me by the name I gave you. If I have a single name, don’t force me to provide _what you consider to be_ a name. Use the one I give you, as I give it to you. Believe me, I’ll notice that you do so … and it will have an impact upon my decision whether to buy from you.

(Side issue, but related: I have no title. I did not inherit a title; I have not been awarded a title. Don’t force me to use one if I do not provide one: I am not Mr. Ms. Mrs., or Miss. If you want to know my gender or marital state, ask … but give me the option of refusing to answer.

Bottom line, normalize all you want for your internal usage, but *don’t* normalize *me*!

]]> by: michel http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-97 Thu, 28 Dec 2006 07:10:43 +0000 http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-97 <blockquote>The only thing that would be better is if you could show how to: Make the normalization script "automatic" rather than by having to click on a button (I'm not sure what the function might be to do this... maybe onBlur?... not sure). This way you could have both the normalize script and personalize script work together <div align="right">Steve</div> </blockquote> Hi Steve, You're right, you can use <code>onBlur</code> event with <code>input</code>-tag. Use <code>this.form</code> as the first parameter instead of <code>this</code>. <div style="border: 1px dashed silver; padding: 1ex;"><code>... &#60;form action=&#34;...&#34; method=&#34;post&#34; onsubmit=&#34;normalizeNames(this,'first_name','last_name')&#34;&#62; First Name: &#60;input name=<span style="color: red;">&#34;first_name&#34;</span> &#160;<span style="color: blue;">onBlur</span>=&#34;<span style="color: brown;">normalizeNames</span>(<span style="color: blue;">this.form</span>,<span style="color: red;">'first_name'</span>)&#34; &#62; Last Name: &#60;input name=<span style="color: red;">&#34;last_name&#34;</span> &#160;<span style="color: blue;">onBlur</span>=&#34;<span style="color: brown;">normalizeNames</span>(<span style="color: blue;">this.form</span>,<span style="color: red;">'last_name'</span>)&#34; &#62; Email: &#60;input name=&#34;email&#34; &#62; ... &#60;/form&#62; ...</code></div> I hope this helps. Michel

The only thing that would be better is if you could show how to:

Make the normalization script “automatic” rather than by having to click on a button (I’m not sure what the function might be to do this… maybe onBlur?… not sure).

This way you could have both the normalize script and personalize script work together

Steve

Hi Steve,

You’re right, you can use onBlur event with input-tag. Use this.form as the first parameter instead of this.

...
<form action="..." method="post"
onsubmit="normalizeNames(this,'first_name','last_name')">
First Name: <input name="first_name"
 onBlur="normalizeNames(this.form,'first_name')" >
Last Name: <input name="last_name"
 onBlur="normalizeNames(this.form,'last_name')" >
Email: <input name="email" >
...
</form>
...

I hope this helps.
Michel

]]> by: Any experts on website forms? - Copywriters Board http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-96 Wed, 27 Dec 2006 22:57:44 +0000 http://askmichel.icoder.com/2006/11/10/normalize-names-in-web-forms/#comment-96 [...] Re: Any experts on website forms? - Today, 06:57 PM Thanks for the link Judy... and thanks again Michel. I actually did some digging around and found a great JavaScript that corrects this problem as soon as you enter information on a form. Here's a link to it... he also has a personalization script in there as well if you dig around his website... some great stuff! Really ironic... the guy's name is Michel too (the second person I've ever seen with their name spelled this way). Warm regards, Stephen Davies http://copywritersinstitute.com Unlock The Power Of Persuasion Within You! [...] […] Re: Any experts on website forms? - Today, 06:57 PM Thanks for the link Judy… and thanks again Michel. I actually did some digging around and found a great JavaScript that corrects this problem as soon as you enter information on a form. Here’s a link to it… he also has a personalization script in there as well if you dig around his website… some great stuff! Really ironic… the guy’s name is Michel too (the second person I’ve ever seen with their name spelled this way). Warm regards, Stephen Davies http://copywritersinstitute.com Unlock The Power Of Persuasion Within You! […]

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