Re: Version numbers and an update from the UX team

Let's make this simple, shall we?

On Aug 20, 3:10 pm, Alex Faaborg <[email protected]> wrote:
> -Making the about window primarily designed to achieve the task of checking
> "am I up to date" is great

Would, "Check for Updates" not be a better label in that case?

> -Some technical users are reacting in a jaded way to large version bumps
> like 5, 6 and 7 because it took us several years for both 3 or 4, the sudden
> change in interval comes off as cheating even though that wasn't the
> intention (just need to get changes out faster to further progress on the
> Web)
> [...]
> -Under the current model we are headed towards version 47, and that is just
> going to sound silly in a world used to seeing small version numbers

What /was/ the intention of bumping major version so often? Why
couldn't you bump minor more instead? "Hiding" it will not make it
less silly.

> -If a user reads that 7.0.1 was released and they don't see this in the
> dialog box, they will be confused if we claim 7.0 is the most up to date
> version

Same logic applies to seeing version number in the troubleshooting
window. What is the difference between the two that the version can be
removed from the one but not the other? (This is the core issue, by
the way.)

> -Version numbers are generally speaking technical jargon, and user
> experience designers generally speaking like to try to remove instances of
> jargon

There is undue jargon and there is necessary complexity. Version
numbers are the latter.

--

Complexity is proportional to verbosity. Responses kept short for
clarity. Exposition can take place in later replies, if necessary.