Loading Profile...
The verb Schedule: creating vs. reminding
Can there be a keyword "schedule" (s) so that Sandy can enter an appointment. It' is odd to ask her to remember something before it exists. Saying "remember" implies that it already exists. I want to ask her to schedule it ("schedule lunch tomorrow 1pm at Mickey Dees")... and it there's a conflict, she can reply: "No can do: you have X at that time..."
I think using the word "schedule" would also help clarify the distinction between asking for a reminder vs. creating an event.
I think using the word "schedule" would also help clarify the distinction between asking for a reminder vs. creating an event.
3
people like this idea
I like this idea!
Tell me when this idea gets some attention.
The more people who like this idea, the more it gets noticed.
The more people who like this idea, the more it gets noticed.
-
Inappropriate?Another user and myself were discussing this yesterday after I suggested it...he brought up times when he’d want to use the word “schedule” in an appointment that would cause confusion. For example:
“Remind me to check my schedule at 4pm” or “r Check schedule, 4pm” The word “schedule” in the middle will suddenly complicate things. The reason the “remind” works is you can’t really use it for anything else except that one meaning...to remind you of something.
I suggested maybe a distinction between the word “remember” which would just make a calendar or to-do list entry, and “remind” which obviously reminds you about a calendar or to-do list entry. My thinking is I’m often asked to remember something that the someone wants me to keep in mind, but not necessarily remind them too. They just don’t want to have to remind me so expect me to remember myself. Remembering and being reminded are two different things...except to Sandy. You ask Sandy to remember something and she will also remind you of it as the default time unless you expressly tell her not to with the @noreminder tag. Plus to use both in a single sentence would be redundant:
“Remind me to remember...” or “Remember to remind me...” don’t really make much sense.
The problem is using the letter R as a shortcut for remind could be confusing if the other alternative also begins with R.
If you have time you should check out the topics "Remind about time A at time B" and "Change the reminder time with an email" -
Inappropriate?I disagree. While the core point is valid that you may use both "schedule" (as a noun) and "remind/remember" together fairly naturally, I think "remind me" and "remember" are relatively synonymous in this sort of usage -- one is addressing "Sandy" as a person, the other is more addressing yourself, but the distinction is really artificial and would be hard for untrained users to understand or intuit. The idea of separating reminders from calendar/schedule items is still useful, though, and I think the "schedule" verb is natural and intuitive. There are already plenty of cases of ambiguous parses even in the current system, and the solution is always just to be at least slightly careful, and to use quotes when you're doing things that are clearly confusing like using a date/time string in the reminder text, itself.
1 person thinks
this is one of the best points
-
Inappropriate?There are problems with using the word "schedule". Using the word "schedule" may seem natural an intuitive to you, except for when you start asking Sandy to stat "scheduling" things that have no date or time. Remember that Sandy can store all sorts of things, not just your schedule.
The word "schedule" implies a limited, known amount of time. You can't use the word "schedule" in the more general sense, with things that don't have a time, or things that have an unknown amount of time. In the strictest sense, Sandy can't schedule *anything* appropriately. Because although she knows when an event begins, she almost never knows when an event ends. (I certainly never tell her.) How long will it take me to "pay my bills" or "go running" or "do my taxes"? I don't know.
Imagine the following examples:
> Sandy, schedule David likes grapes.
> Sandy, schedule pay my phone bill on Monday.
> Sandy, schedule lunch with Foster 3 pm Tuesday @sms.
> Sandy, schedule grocery list * grapes * bread * milk
The only one of these that make sense is the "lunch with Foster" because it has a date and a time. Even the "pay my phone bill on Monday" sounds odd, because a time isn't specified. It sounds like you're asking Sandy to specify a time for the event. Like you're asking her to evaluate your schedule for Monday and fit that task in at some point in the day. I agree with hanleyman that this would eventually be a good skill for Sandy to have, but it's not going to happen in the near future. So I think the command word "schedule" should be reserved until that feature is implemented.
I think that Sandy should continue to use the word "remember" as the instruction to add things to her memory. However, I agree with Aitese that the word "remind" is fundamentally different than the word "remember". "remind" should create a reminder. I think that makes sense. I think it would make more sense if "remember" didn't create any reminder at all, regardless whether the item has a date and time associated with it. The default reminder of 15 minutes doesn't help me out much anyway.
> remember to buy eggs on Friday. (this will remind me at 6:45 am?)
> remember lunch with Brian Tuesday at noon. (takes 30 minutes to get there)
> remember Cooper likes string cheese.
> remember Allan's birthday 5/6/08 (this will set a reminder for 6:45 am?)
> remember to pick up my dry cleaning at 3 pm Thursday. Remind me at 2:30 pm @sms. (How I think reminders should work.) -
Inappropriate?The point is Sandy would understand the context of the word as we would. You wouldn't naturally "schedule" a phone number or your favourite foods; you'd "remember" those things with no time or date. So the idea is if you have a meeting you say to Sandy:
Schedule meeting with Brad on/at time/date. (Hopefully they could implement someway of indicating start and finish time so Sandy can inform you of overlaps/double bookings)
The DEFAULT action chosen by you in the settings could be to ONLY put the appointment in the calendar OR do that plus remind you at your default set time, i.e. 15 minutes before etc.
If you have your settings to NOT automatically remind you of anything posted with a date or time you would append to the end of the request a reminder:
Schedule meeting with Brad on/at time/date. Remind me on/at time/date
You would use "schedule" specifically to enter an appointment in the calendar and Sandy would expressly look for a time/date...possibly email you back to ask when the request should be scheduled for and keep prompting you until she has all the info needed:
You: Sandy, schedule meeting with Mark
Sandy: When do you want this appointment scheduled for?
At this point Sandy would receive a time or date AND time...but she wouldn’t stop prompting until the time data specifically is completed (what’s a good secretary/personal assistant if they don’t nag you every now and again?)
Basically she would, when reading the word “schedule” look for:
1 What the appointment is
2 When it starts
3 When it ends
? The day
The last one would be optional as if that is not provided she would schedule the appointment for the same day.
The big problem I found is short cuts...the shortcut for “remind” is “r” so what would be the shortcut for “remember”? -
Inappropriate?The point with Sandy is that you're not supposed to be addressing yourself...you're supposed to be addressing Sandy at all times as if you're emailing a person. To an untrained person what I have propossed would not be any different.
For example:
Remind me about dinner at 16:30pm
Would do what Sandy always does and send an email reminder at your default interval (15 mins before or more)
Remember dinner at 16:30pm
Should do the same for anyone who has not explored any other options. The difference I propose would be a check box for "remember" in your preferences that opt's out of automatic reminders for the verb remember. So people who don't know about it won't be affected...they bet thier default email reminder as they have always done...when they are ready for a more intuative system it's just a quick read of the FAQ's and a check box away.
So once you switch from the default to the "advanced" scedular, you now have to specify when you want your reminder or Sandy will fall back to your set default .
Remember dinner at 16:30pm. Remind me at 13:00pm
If you don't set the reminder then Sandy will remind you 15 minutes before (or whatever you have set it to)
