Re: you want to change user expectations

On Aug 16, 4:57 pm, Ron Hunter <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 8/16/2011 6:41 PM, Asa Dotzler wrote:
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> > Ron Hunter wrote:
> >> On 8/16/2011 1:07 PM, Asa Dotzler wrote:
> >>> Panda wrote:
> >>>> Actually I am dissappointed that the UI team aims to change user
> >>>> expectations.
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> >>> I'm not really sure how to respond to this.
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> >>> It's my opinion that a primary role of a UI/UX designer is to make life
> >>> easier for users. If a user's expectation is that something is
> >>> difficult, and the UX folks want them to have an experience that's not
> >>> difficult, you think that's disappointing?
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> >>> - A
> >> I think the problem is that users don't always perceive the new way of
> >> doing things as easier, given that most people instinctively resist
> >> change, and don't like to change their habits.
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> > That is indeed a problem. It's a lot bigger problem than just Firefox
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> > though. That's a part of the human condition. People hated extensions in
> > the early days of Firefox development and insisted that all of those
> > features be built into the browser. We resisted and today extensions are
> > one of the features that every browser wants to copy Firefox on. People
> > hated tabbed browsing when we first introduced it in Mozilla -- I can
> > remember all the cries of "but the OS is the window manager, not the
> > browser". Even self-proclaimed usability experts came down in opposition
> > to tabbed browsing and long debates and even flame wars erupted. But we
> > stuck to our guns, popularized tabbed browsing, and now every browser
> > has followed suit.
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> > It's a truism that users resist change and don't always recognize the
> > value of change immediately. Some never do. But over time I think that
> > most of the changes that browsers have made over the last decade have
> > proved themselves positive. If they hadn't people would not have moved
> > from IE6 and that's where the Web would be today.
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> > - A
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> Funny you should mention people moving from IE6.  One of the problem MS
> addresses often is trying to get people to move from IE6 so they don't
> have to support it.  Unfortunately, there are some people who just WON'T
> move, and likely never will.  Maybe MS should just stop updating it, and
> let all those users continue using it until their systems are so malware
> ridden they collapse.  I suspect that some Mozilla users will do exactly
> the same thing with FF3.6.

I don't think it is fair to dismiss the impact of changing simple
little things to make it "easier"...  I have repeatedly had to "hunt"
for features that were once easily accessible and usable.  Asa's
arguments are not valid - they are dismissive.  He says words like "I
value feedback" but the overall read in context is "I value feedback
as long as I agree".  Not professional.