GNOME terminology question

["Larry W. Virden" <lvirden cas org>]

Yesterday, during a GNOME training class, a question came up about some
GNOME terminology.  I am hoping that someone here can point me to
discussions on the following topics.

1. When dealing with dialogs relating to gnome-panel , sometimes the word
"Preferences" is used and sometimes the word "Properties" is used.  What
is the best way to distinguish the difference for a non-technical user?

2. The completion interaction in GNOME when updating properties, preferences,
and applications has been mentioned many time by our users (who are
not programmers, in general).

Sometimes when the user is interacting with GNOME, they make a change and
it takes place immediately.  Sometimmes, they make a change and they need
to press a "Close" key.  Sometimes they need an "Okay" button pressed or
an "Apply" button.  This leads to user confusion as to whether their change
has taken effect/been remembered by the computer.  Is there a philosophy/
mind set that, once explained, can help a user understand the design?
-- 
Tcl - The glue of a new generation.  <URL: http://wiki.tcl.tk/ >
Larry W. Virden <mailto:lvirden cas org> <URL: http://www.purl.org/NET/lvirden/>
Even if explicitly stated to the contrary, nothing in this posting should 
be construed as representing my employer's opinions.
-><-