Scroll up or scroll down?

[alfaniner]

So, say you're looking through your photo gallery with a friend (in portrait format). You've been through several looking for something and have stopped at one. Your friend says "Scroll up". Which way do you swipe? Do you go to the previous picture or the next one? I believe there may be different (strong!) opinions on which it should be.
Note: There are no qualifying words like "OK" or "Wait", which would probably give a clue as to which way they intend. Of course "Scroll back" or "Scroll forward" would be self-explanatory.
I guess it depends if you're focused on the scroll bar, which when you scroll down the pictures will move up. But if you're focused on the pictures, scroll down may mean go back to the previous one.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

In the time it took me to compose an answer, I changed my mind and erased it. Too ambiguous. Don't know.

 

[Thermal]

The Riddle of the Sphinx for the digital age.

 

[theprestige]

In the time it took me to compose an answer, I changed my mind and erased it. Too ambiguous. Don't know.

Similar. First I could care less, and then after a few moments I couldn't anymore.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Yes

 

[alfaniner]

This only came to mind because I actually heard people arguing about it. But then, they argued about everything.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Your question asks if we scroll down, your OP asks if we scroll up.

 

[Emily's Cat]

If I'm using a finger on a touch screen, I would swipe up, so that the next picture below it comes into view. If I'm using a mouse, I scroll down.

But it's all the same, because it's a wheel - I swipe the top of the wheel down, but the bottom of the wheel is swiping the screen up

Recently had to deal with my dad's mac... and everything is wrong and backwards. The mouse wheel goes the wrong way and it breaks my brain.

 

[Thermal]

Scroll up/down intuitively means the screen, not the finger movement (which varies by device), yes? if something is at the bottom of the page you scroll down to it, and vice versa, because the bottom of stuff is down, and the top is up. Done and done.

 

[theprestige]

Scroll up/down intuitively means the screen, not the finger movement (which varies by device), yes? if something is at the bottom of the page you scroll down to it, and vice versa, because the bottom of stuff is down, and the top is up. Done and done.

I don't understand. The active gesture is upward. Clearly we're scrolling up.

 

[Thermal]

Scroll up/down intuitively means the screen, not the finger movement (which varies by device), yes? if something is at the bottom of the page you scroll down to it, and vice versa, because the bottom of stuff is down, and the top is up. Done and done.

Mother ◊◊◊◊◊◊. Now I'm thinking if something is at the bottom of the screen, you need to scroll it up, or bring the upper part back down. I hate scrolls. Didn't we advance civilization to using paged books for exactly this reason?

 

[TragicMonkey]

I'm reporting all y'all to pharaoh. Call yourselves scribes, and you don't even know how scrolls work? You don't have to think about it, just roll them! It should be second nature to you! Honestly, kids today! Things have been going downhill since the XIVth Dynasty.

 

[Thermal]

*Yul Brenner voice*
"So let it be written... so let it be scrolled."

 

[Roger Ramjets]

So, say you're looking through your photo gallery with a friend (in portrait format). You've been through several looking for something and have stopped at one. Your friend says "Scroll up". Which way do you swipe? Do you go to the previous picture or the next one?

That depends on which way you were going.

Cursor up, page up, scroll up - all involve moving the content down the screen to see what's 'above' it. So if you were viewing pictures from top to bottom then 'scroll up' would mean going back to the previous picture. To do that you swipe down.

I believe there may be different (strong!) opinions on which it should be.

I did some research (ie. I Googled it), and was surprised to find no clear consensus. Dictionaries just talk about 'scrolling' and don't say which way is up and down. However those of us who are familiar with the term from pre touch-screen days know. The cursor up and page up keys move the cursor up, and the text scrolls down. Similarly when you move a scrollbar up the visible window contents moves down because it's moving the 'window' up over the contents.

 

[Thermal]

Another reason to hate this discussion is that everyone thinks scrolling works the same. On my android phone, thumb swiping up makes the bottom of the page advance upward. On my chrome laptop, it's the opposite functioning. Apple stuff probably does something ridiculous and contrarian at 84 times the price.

Who knows what other posters are experiencing? This is like a scrolling qualia dilemma. Get it in philosophy, stat.

 

[Trebuchet]

Up to go down, down to go up.
Now let's do left and right.

 

[alfaniner]

Up to go down, down to go up.
Now let's do left and right.

Funny, that just clarified for me that swiping and scrolling are two different things. Say, "swipe left"(directly on the image) takes the picture and moves it to the left, as in a dating app. But if you're using a scroll bar on the bottom (say, in a different app) and moving it to the left, the image(s) move to the right.

 

[Orphia Nay]

In devices with touchscreens, you swipe up to bring the bottom of the page up. This is called "scrolling down".

Without touchscreens, using a toolbar and mouse, you scroll down using the scroll bar on the page. Also called "scrolling down".

Helps to know what device you're talking about.

 

[novaphile]

East takes you out,
out takes you West,
West takes you in,
in takes you East,
port and starboard bring you back.

 

[alfaniner]

In devices with touchscreens, you swipe up to bring the bottom of the page up. This is called "scrolling down".

Without touchscreens, using a toolbar and mouse, you scroll down using the scroll bar on the page. Also called "scrolling down".

Helps to know what device you're talking about.

My point is that terms that should be abundantly clear will always be misunderstood by someone. I think there's a Law about that or something.