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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: kde-usability Digest, Vol 2, Issue 15
From:       Datschge <datschge () gmx ! de>
Date:       2003-05-18 16:08:49
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Simon Edwards wrote:
> You mean, users that understand and use MMB C'n'P, *might* understand what
> is going on, but you need to remember that most people (in general and KDE
> users) don't come from a Tradional *NIX/X11 background and probably don't
> use MMB C'n'P. (KDE developers do not represent the users).

I wouldn't be that sure about that. It's true that we can assume that most of 
current computer users have a Windows background, and most of those surely 
still use Windows, same goes for Mac OS users etc. Changing operation systems 
usually is still quite an exception among the whole lot of users, and I'm 
pretty sure that among KDE users who use it due to their own decision to do 
so the majority knows about mmb paste.

> Now, what's more likely to happen is that your average user (that
> uses/expects C'n'P to work the same as basically every GUI system *except*
> *NIX/X11), will be using Konq and will have no idea why sometimes Konq goes
> to another page when they use the mousewheel

...using the mousewheel never automatically resulted in a mmb click unless it 
a flaw of the used hardware, this is no reason to change a feature...

> or miss a MMB link click,

...misclicks are misclicks on any system, regardless where they happen and 
what features are linked to it, this is no reason to change a feature...

> when most of the time nothing happens.

For me everytime happens something, I'm using Klipper which ensures that the 
clipboard is never empty.

> (The difference being the content of the (invisible) clipboard.

I'm all for making the clipboard content visible for that matter.

> How are most people meant to be able work out the relationship between the
> contents of the clipboard and MMB in Konq?).

As I said above if they are aware of the mmb paste behavior and see their 
cpliboard content progressed in the location bar the link should be pretty 
obvious. But currently many people seem to try hard to make KDE behave like a 
Windows clone so I better be no longer surprised that people expect Windows 
style features and behavior all the time without respecting and accepting old 
useful but conflicting *nix features and behavior. I'm looking forward to all 
the further making-KDE-same-as-Windows feature request.

> Besides, changing MMB in Konq to automatically do a google search would
> total bitch mouse wheel scrolling.

Uh, it does that since ages now, update your KDE. And you should really 
exchange your mouse when scrolling your wheel produces mmb clicks all the 
time. Again for crying out loud, accidental mmb clicks while scrolling a 
wheel is a *hardware* problem, not a software one, thus fix the hardware, 
don't make software workarounds for it.

What's the issue anyway? If people don't know something try to make the 
feature more obvious, make existing features more useful by letting users see 
what they can actually do with them instead giving them the expectation that 
it just works "like any other system". Why is everyone so eager to *remove* 
features which exist for some time already and do have a user base instead 
thinking about how to improve usability and accessibility and making everyone 
happy instead breaking the whole user base in two parts, those who are lucky 
and get exactly what they and the others who will have to stick with the more 
limited result because some people thought it has to be better for everyone 
this way. Existing features aren't there to be removed, we already have 
another *nix based GUI which takes care of that if you really prefer doing 
so.

Regards, Datschge
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