From kde-usability Mon Oct 20 01:26:37 2003 From: Stian =?iso-8859-1?Q?S=F8iland?= Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 01:26:37 +0000 To: kde-usability Subject: Re: "Folder" or "Directory"? X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-usability&m=106661322629627 On 2003-10-18 11:37:33, Casey Allen Shobe wrote: > Directories are called directories everywhere else in UNIX/Linux, and since > KDE runs AFAIK only on UNIX/Linux, it should follow this standard. I totally disagree. Any "good oldtime UNIX user" who walks around thinking about directories should have no problem understanding what a "Folder" is. Many people new to computing, or simply new to UNIX would easier understand "Folder" - not only because this is the term used in other situations and operating systems, but because it gives the user a feeling of "This is a place to put stuff". A "directory" gives the impression of "this is a place I can register something to look it up later" - like an address book. If you registered a friend in a book and then threw away the book, you don't expect to lose your friend, do you? Well, that's the case with "directories". The term folder is a far more appropriate term for some other reason as well, and that is the beautiful IO-slave concept of KDE. I can use ftp://blabla to see FTP folders, webdav://zope.domain.com to visit folders on my Zope server (and no, they are not directories on the backend), etc. etc. Folders should be consistent not caring where they are placed, there is no reason to 'teach' users about the term 'directory' when 'folder' works perfect. I suggest saying 'All folders are called folders, there are no directories' (hehe, there is no spoon) or something in the (nonexistent?) UI guidelines. -- Stian Søiland Work toward win-win situation. Win-lose Trondheim, Norway is where you win and the other lose. http://www.soiland.no/ Lose-lose and lose-win are left as an exercise to the reader. [Limoncelli/Hogan] _______________________________________________ kde-usability mailing list kde-usability@mail.kde.org http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability