[Desktop_architects] Regarding GNOME usability (and the Linus, Schaller debate)

Andrew Spott andrew.spott at gmail.com
Sat Feb 24 16:10:02 PST 2007


0) I put this on this list because here is where I read about the original
discussion of Gnome usability, I wasn't aware of a gnome-usability list.
Since I'm not sure where I would find this list, and I'm not entirely
convinced that this doesn't belong on this list, I'm leaving it here, if
more people complain, I'll kill it and restart it somewhere else.
1) Hence the last statement on my page.  It came across a little
condescending when I reread it, (oops), but I really am curious why this
doesn't work.
2) Your right, multi user levels don't work... (basically any more than
two).  But what is being looked at is trying to appease two different
groups, the gnome folks who turn down a feature because "thats too many
options for the user to deal with, we don't want to confuse the new users,"
and the people like me and like Linus who say "I want <some obscure feature>
available to me"  Those in between can usually fall in one or the other.
The problem is that while user levels don't work, neither does removing the
features because you don't want to confuse people.  Whereas with user levels
you make people judge their skills and a few people misjudge and lose out,
with the current system on gnome, the users who are 'advanced' users miss
out because they don't have options that they might want.

I agree user levels probably don't work very well for anyone in the middle,
but dumbing things down also doesn't work for the power users.

3) I agree, numbered lists are fun.
4) to put my comments in perspective, I'm a gnome user. I use Ubuntu.  I've
tried Kubuntu, and usually find it buggy, but ultimately, I like the
simplicity of Gnome.  Its simple, it works, and the applications using gtk
are usually less cluttered and more simple.  However, there are still those
times when I want that odd feature, and I don't want to be digging around in
gconf to find it.  Basically, I have no problem with the simplicity of
gnome,  but I also don't think that features should be left out or removed
because it would "be confusing to the beginner."

To make my statement more general:  Every feature should be available, but
most should be hidden (and in a better interface than gconf).  You should
never remove features to dumb things down, but you also shouldn't make
everything available (cause thats just confusing).

-Andrew

On 2/24/07, Aaron J. Seigo <aseigo at kde.org> wrote:
>
> On February 24, 2007, Andrew Spott wrote:
> > I'm dying to know what the issues with doing this are, because I don't
> see
> > them, but it seems like such a simple solution, in a debate that has
> been
> > going on for a while I'm surprised that it hasn't happened yet.
>
> 0) i'm not sure this belongs on this list, perhaps gnome-usability
> 1) usually when you're surprised the obvious hasn't been done, that's a
> sign
> that the obvious solution is a poor one (or the people involved are truly
> twisted)
> 2) what you're suggesting is called "user levels" and they don't work.
> it's
> been tried many times in many guises. google should turn up information on
> why.
> 3) numbered lists are fun, but more so on saturdays.
>
> --
> Aaron J. Seigo
> humru othro a kohnu se
> GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA  EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43
>
> Full time KDE developer sponsored by Trolltech (http://www.trolltech.com)
>
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>
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