Comfort noises
More System.Vocab. Here's the VUI equivalent of the GUI hourglass:
bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop... int.
A repeated sequence of usually 2 supposedly-pleasant-sounding tones in a rapid rhythmical pattern. A ticking system clock, how nice! Typically inserted during interactions for the purposes of (i) making the caller believe that extensive processing happening on the system side* and (ii) preventing further input from the caller for the duration of the sound. The harmonic range of the tones is generally between a second and a fifth. Variations include units of more than 2 tones (e.g. blippity-bop-blippity-bop) and/or sharper waveform onsets to indicate greater urgency (e.g. tak-tak-tak-tak). Over-use can induce emotions of annoyance or rage in callers.
Examples:
System: Let me look that up for you.
System: bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop-bip-bop
System: Found it.
orig: tick-tock (imit.)
* Such processing does not always take place. Some studies suggest that users have a preference for systems that appear to take time to do retrieval tasks, and mistrust systems that respond too quickly. In some cases therefore, the noise may be used to reassure the user that some heavy lifting is being executed on their behalf, when in fact nothing is happening at all.
