Once again, obsessed with words.

Today I had to use a foreign language site to order a book for the library where I work. This is much easier now that browsers include the right-click option to Translate This Page. I had to register and fill out all of the forms for shipping. One of the drop down boxes has stayed with me all day. It has amused and puzzled me. 

Blame it on library school. No really. We had an entire semester on database creation - not using software, mind you. Rather we focused on data organization, infrastructure, and limiting parameters. One of the best applications of organizing data input through the limitation parameters when gathering data through any type of form is the drop down menu. 

Wikipedia defines a drop-down menu as, "a graphical control element, similar to a list box, that allows the user to choose one value from a list." By limiting the input category options to only those on the list, one can efficiently sort and process the incoming data. Even the online Office Support from Microsoft states, "You can make a worksheet more efficient by providing drop-down lists."

When I came across this particular drop-down list I was at first amused by all of the options (some of which I hope are just poorly translated). Why, I puzzled, would anyone want to rack ALL of these options? And why are they in the order they are? Are the ones up top the more frequently used options? The REQUIRED field was titled ROAD TYPE. It came with the following options to choose from (in the order they were on the list).

Airport

Mall

Village

Post Office Box

Apartment

Area 

Stream

Expressway

Dual Carriageway

Avenue

Drop

Ravine

Slum

Lane

Neighborhood

Block

Boulevard

Street 

Alley

I Walk

Field 

Campus

Career

Road

Lane

Hamlet

Center

Chalet

School

Cologne

Set

Farmhouse

Costanilla

Crossing

Slope

Dock

Department

Building

Entrance

Staircase

Season

Esplanade

Extramural

Outskirts

Faculty

Railroad

Estate

Roundabout

Gran Via

Group

Orchard

Grounds

Laboratory

Side Place

Apple

Masia

Market

Mt.

Town

Not Stated

Another Type of Track

Pavillion

Plot

Park

Business Park

Technology Park

Departure

Passage

Prom

Square

Populated

Polygon

Industrial Estate

Private Mail Box

Prado

Extension

Bridge

Gate

Port

Fifth

Branch

Ramp

Riera

Corner

Round

Rua

Exit

Sector

Pathway

Solar

Rise

Land

Torrent

Crossing

University

Urbinization

Via 

Public Roads

Zona Franca

Industrial Zone

Seriously? Wouldn't it be more efficient to have a data box with a limited number of characters and let folks input whatever? Why would anyone need to know if my address is on a slum, a polygon or staircase? And then be able to sort that information? AAAAAAAAH!

Rant ends.