save link -> save target
I am an old man and I am still using Win XP which no longer supports MS newer browser so I am transferring to Firefox.
In the Firefox's context menu "save link" does the same as "save target" in IE but I find this confusing and have difficulty getting used to it. To me a link is one thing and the target is another. The link points at the target or object but it is not the object, it is only a pointer. To me the wording feels wrong and every time I go to use it I have to stop to think. I guess at my old age my neurons are just set and lack adaptability. To me the link is is the URI string which points at the target.
I want to know if there is an easy way for me to change the wording in the Firefox context menu from "save link as" to "save target as".
All Replies (9)
Hi !
Getting used to changes isn't alway easy, so I totally understand why you find this confusing.
'Save link as' is the Firefox equivalent for 'Save target as'.
Maybe you could look at it this way :
Take a jar of peanut butter. The peanut butter is the target and the jar is the link. You put the jar in the kitchen cupboard (that's where you 'save' it)
Am I making any sense ?
I am sorry but I am just not seeing it. To me a link is like a note on the refrigerator door which says "the peanut butter is now in the other refrigerator in the garage" or a road sign which points to a road and says "Dallas, TX". Those signs are distinct from the items they point to. To me a "link" is a pointer and completely distinct from the item it points to.
If I were much younger I might enjoy learning German, Chinese, Windows 10, Linux and a bunch of other things which I am sure would be very useful but at my age and mental condition I am not even going to try. Win XP is my last operating system and I hope it will last me until I die but if it fails sooner then I will be happy to do without a computer and spend my time staring at the clouds and watching the grass grow.
To me, and, unless I am mistaken, to most people a link to this page is not this page but a pointer to this page. If someone asks me to send them a link to this page I would sent them the URL and not the entire page. I think most people would do the same. I think most people understand the difference between "Can you send me a link to that page?" and "That link does not work for me, can you please copy the page and send it to me?"
I am not sure why Firefox changed the accepted conventional usage. Maybe just to do it differently. It seems every new program, operating system, etc. needs to differentiate itself by calling things differently which just confuses regular folks out there.
If in Firefox I can change "save link" to "save target" or even "save object" I would find that helpful in my use of Firefox but I am afraid it is too late for an old dog like me to try to learn "firefox-speak".
So I am hoping someone can tell me if there is a simple way to change the context menu "save link" to "save target".
Now this may be a cliche, but : age is nothing but a number. There are some very, very dumb 29-year olds, and there are some very, very intelligent, clever and bright 100-year olds.
Having said that : As the peanut butter analogy didn't do the trick, how about looking at it like this :
Different browser => (slightly) different language. From now on 'Save target as' is 'Save link as'.
Just like one man comes up to you and says 'Hi', and the other one says 'Howdy'. But you'd know that they both mean the same ('Hello'), don't you ?
Just thought of something : You don't want to 'save a link' - but you don't want to 'save a target' either : You want to save a 'subject', right ? The target = the subject you want to save.
Both 'Save link as' and 'Save target as' will do just that : Save the subject you want saved.
Am I making any sense now ?
Yes, I can try to remember and memorize that "link" is being misused here but it is annoying and irritating to me. It would be better IMHO if words were used according to their standard English meaning.
It's like going to a restaurant where the menu says "coffee" but means "ketchup". Yes, you can memorize an equivalence translation table but it is still annoying.
Why misuse the word "link" instead of using a more correct word?
As Firefox can be customized in different languages I was hoping there was a text file somewhere where I could change the text to be displayed.
This thread is all about logical and lexical semantics, as well as : 'You see it your way and I see it mine' - and I'm afraid that we could go on and on about this and never see eye to eye ....... Let's just agree to disagree, shall we ?
This thread is asking if there is a way I can change the text in the context menu. I thought there might be an easy way since Firefox has versions in different languages and I thought it may be as simple as changing a string of text somewhere.
But the word "link" has a very precise definition in the English language which can be found in any dictionary and in the way it is commonly used. Nowhere outside of Firefox have I seen it used to represent the object being linked rather than the link itself. Never. I would be interested in seeing examples of the word "link" being used outside of Firefox to represent the object linked rather than the link itself. I have never seen it and I think it would be considered a misuse and would be confusing.
But, again, that is not the object of my question. The object of my question is if there is a way to change the text in the context menu. If it can be changed to other languages maybe it can be changed easily to standard English.
With 'standard English' I assume you mean UKSE (United Kingdom Standard English) ? For there is of course : General American English, General Australian English, etc..
May I suggest that you submit your suggestion / question here :