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Why are the webcam/microphone switches red when the component is disabled and black when enabled (instead of the other way around)?
(yeokhengmeng.com)
It makes more sense to me to have the switches appear as red when the device has the ability to record you. When color is used as an indicator for something, the general convention is that red is negative. Meaning that there is a greater possibility of something going wrong when a red indicator is being displayed. You could argue that "webcam is not working for some reason" is a negative, and that seeing the bright red indicator can bring your attention to the switch as a hint to how to fix the issue. I would argue against that by stating that having a webcam record you when you do not want it to is a much bigger potential negative than the webcam not recording when you do want it to.
Also:
- When a traditional video camera displays a red indicator light, that means the camera is recording.
- On the underside of the Framework 16, the expansion module latches are red when disengaged
Toilet door locks indicate they're locked with red. Similar for a lot of other types of mechanical locks.
Red light indicators for active recording is a more recent thing, mostly a consequence of red LED lights being easiest and cheapest to manufacture at scale