Re: Ideas/Regressions

>-- Messaggio originale --
>Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 21:59:08 +0200
>From: Erich Schubert <[email protected]>
>To: Marco Pesenti Gritti <[email protected]>
>Cc: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [Galeon-devel] Ideas/Regressions
>
>
>Well, i have to apologize for my flaming. I'm kind of stressed due to my
>exams. Actually not by the exams themselves, but of me not caring about
>how i pass them and not having plans for my future...
>
>It's just that i use these options every day, so i don't want to see
>them removed. It's not like that "wm changing" discussion on gnome-list:
>a capplet for chaning the WM can be added at any time IMHO; and you
>don't do this everyday - i do toggle java and javascript quite often.
>So IMHO java / popups isn't that exotic. Just difficult to understand,
>but not exotic and rarely used.
>
>But don't underestimate the "featuritis" of your users.
>Reasonable users should stick with a few options, but most users would
>like to try out lot's of new stuff.
>People like to toy around and play with their applications.
>
>Remember this "Web page comments" application that was hyped on windows
>sometime? People could just attach notes to web pages, and anybody could
>read these, remove these etc.
>I think that has completely disappeared by now. Still people will ask
>"can't i do this with galeon".
>People will like to be able to attach notes to web pages; still most
>people will never use this productively.
>But they will complain if they can't do it.
>
>IMHO Gnome2 has done one big misconception (feel free to forward this to
>the gnome mailing list, i'm not subscribed to them):
>They desing for the corporate desktop only.
>For a corporate desktop you want to limit your users' choices, so they
>can change less and thus break less. Also the users shouldn't spend so
>much time in playing around with their settings.
>But if you want to have a lot of settings to play with (and lots of
>users DO want to play with their settings) they'll find gnome2 just
>boring.
>Keeping the System easy to use is one thing - making it interesting to
>use is the second thing. One that linux has been a lot better at then
>microsoft was.
>IMHO Applications should always have some new stuff to try out; that'll
>keep them interesting for a longer time. ;)
>

I really really dont want to go through such a general discussion. Your
last phrase shows exactly where we disagree. I believe apps should make
you able to get your work done, you believe apps should be fun. Remember
most people dont have any fun trying new stuff out.

>For example galeon1 still has some stuff i'm going to investigate some
>time, in the case i might want to use it: automatic bookmarks. sessions.
>bookmark nicks.
>
>Marco: you said yourself that most of your family and friends don't know
>what javascript is etc. - but are they actually harmed by the menu
>entry? I don't think so. 

They are for many reasons:
- Many menus add menu clutter and menu clutter is really bad for usability
- An ui exposing complex implementation details (javascript is an implementation
detail of web pages) that many user cannot understand doesnt certainly improve
their feel with the application.
- There is the risk an user accidentally enable this option (with menus
is easy) and then he would probably never understand himself why web pages
doesnt work anymore

>Most will just leave things alone they don't
>know about.
>Giving the entries appropriate titles is probably more important:
>"Override Colors" and "Override Fonts" is easier to understand than
>"Use my colors" (this actually is a feature i have rarely ever used
>myself... still there are users that might want to have it: people with
>bad eyes might want to have this size- and contrast override.)
>

Well my english sucks so I may be wrong. But "override" sounds like a technical
term while "Use my" seem a term that any silly user would be able to understand.
And about giving proper names, in the javascript case there isnt a proper
name, it's just a technical detail that most users dont care about.

Marco



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