[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Fork of KDE4/Qt3?
From:       "Aaron J. Seigo" <aseigo () kde ! org>
Date:       2008-06-10 16:38:54
Message-ID: 200806101038.54423.aseigo () kde ! org
[Download RAW message or body]

[Attachment #2 (multipart/signed)]


On Tuesday 10 June 2008, Ian Wadham wrote:
> I think a lot of the problem lies with the use of terminology: by Plasma,
> by writers in this thread and by you, Aaron.  It is vital that developers
> use plain English terms that people like my wife and me can understand and
> that they define special terms in ways that we can easily locate and
> understand.

kde-devel is a development mailing list, and now we're discussing whether a 
development discussion qualifies as useful end user guidance. there's a real 
disconnect here.

i'm now going to slink back to my den of technology where code gets written 
and i discuss with my peers in technical terms. i'm really not going to bother 
trying to communicate how plasma works internally anymore outside of panel-
devel because people really don't want to know. that's fine.

at some point there will be user documentation for plasma. i increasingly get 
the feeling that the first draft will end up being written by me only because 
it continues to be a gaping hole that remains unfilled. that user documentation 
will be in plain english (and whatever other languages it gets translated 
into) and include pretty pictures, i'm sure.

> Then I noticed one that
> was almost invisible in the darkness on the right-hand end of the strip at
> the bottom of the screen (is that what you call a "panel"?), and another
> strip opened up above the first.

it's been called a "panel" since kde 2.0. it also has a context menu that has 
"Panel Settings" as an option in it, just like kicker did, which brings up the 
same interface the little cashew/moon/toolboxbutton does.

> mostly unaware of the finer points mentioned in this
> thread, such as a "folder view"

the default layout actually contains a folder view (showing ~/Desktop, no 
less) so this knowledge isn't particularly necessary for the new user.

in any case, i enjoyed reading your exploration of plasma. highlights where we 
need documentation and more clarity.

> which I feel is setting
> application development back more than somewhat

great. well, we'll see if i decide to stick with it. maybe you won't have to 
deal with me much longer and everything that comes with it and get on with 
your app devel. perhaps it would be better. *shrug*

-- 
Aaron J. Seigo
humru othro a kohnu se
GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA  EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43

KDE core developer sponsored by Trolltech


["signature.asc" (application/pgp-signature)]

>> Visit http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-devel#unsub to unsubscribe <<


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]