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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: The art of not offering customization
From:       "Aaron J. Seigo" <aseigo () olympusproject ! org>
Date:       2002-05-29 14:37:56
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On May 29, 2002 03:48 am, Kristian Koehntopp wrote:
> On Wed, May 29, 2002 at 02:17:46AM -0600, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> > > Don't collect. Hide. And make a big "Unix Expert" switch, right at the
> > > top of all.
> >
> > <repeat>user levels are not a solution</repeat>
> >
> > when are we going to have that FAQ stuff up on the website so we can just
> > point people to a URL on this matter?
>
> Aaron, there is a lot of stuff that needs to go away, by
> default. Please find some beginner level user, preferably also a
> slow learner or a person of high age. Give them KDE 3, for the
> first time, and the observe.

please stop assuming that because i don't agree with what you are saying i 
have arrived at these concepts through ivory-tower speculation.

i live with computer novices, i work with computer novices. i'm surrounded by 
them all day. and they user linux / kde. i get to watch them stub their toes 
and run into walls all the time. 

which leads to this:

> There is simply to much stuff, and
> to much action, and there are a lot of meaningless words.

i agree. i couldn't agree more, in fact!

where we differ is the solution.

your solution is to hide things. i've been around that argument more times 
than i care to. please read the message archives if you are really interested 
in the details of why hiding things behind user levels is such a bad idea.

my solution is to create an interface that doesn't hide things behind the 
artificiality of "user levels" but which provides an easy to use, logically 
presented and human oriented layout. KDE lacks this sort of interface when it 
comes to configuration and fixing those interfaces is the solution.

Michael's reply to your email is bang-on as well. i won't bother repeating 
what he's said, but suffice it to say that i agree completely with his take 
on the matter.

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