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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [Fwd: [kde] quick question about desktop text]
From:       James Richard Tyrer <tyrerj () acm ! org>
Date:       2005-02-15 2:54:13
Message-ID: 42116455.1010309 () acm ! org
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Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> On Sunday 13 February 2005 03:08, Harijs Buss wrote:
> 
>>Will user opinion about that be involved at least somehow?
> 
> 
> of course. but perhaps not in the way many imagine it when they ask this.
> 
> having random users pop in random ideas is rarely useful. it's about as useful 
> as random users suggesting ways to design our code better. most users aren't 
> coders, and most that are have no idea about our code design. every once in a 
> while there is a person who is a user, coder and has some concept of the 
> design involved and they do provide useful input. usually in the form of a 
> patch. otherwise, these kinds of input are useless and simply "noise".
> 
> so simply asking all our users for their input will result in unqualified 
> ideas that more often than not will lack the necessary contextual awareness 
> (e.g. what's in CVS HEAD, what our HIG says, etc =) to be useful. it also 
> sets them up for disappointment and even anger when their pet idea doesn't 
> happen, even if it's for a good reason.
> 
> but user opinion IS important! the way to gather it is the question. we need 
> usability people familiar with how to gather this information and knowledge 
> of our design principles and the greater context of KDE. we need user studies 
> done, data collected, normalized and interpreted. this will keep noise low 
> (thereby not chasing devels away screaming) and signal high (thereby 
> resulting in high quality results). 
> 
> those users who are able to contribute on their own two feet, so to speak, 
> should do so via the kde-usability@kde.org email list and/or irc. at which 
> point they are not just users, they are contributors.

Your above comments are presumptuous and have little validity.  The code 
is not a relevant issue to the users of a product.  All the user sees in 
the GUI.   If they have problems with it, then it needs to be fixed. 
Your presumptuous attitude is not in any way conducive to the 
improvement of the product.

> it's really all about how we collect these "user opinions". =)

I collect "opinions" on the support list from people that have problems.

As an engineer, I feel that this is valid data because ALL users are 
totally qualified to state the problems that they are having with the 
software.  Perhaps users are not qualified to decide how to fix issues, 
but we should listen to their suggestions -- we should use them as input 
to brainstorming about the problem if nothing else.

In this case, we have a primary issue.  The "Magic Buttons" are not a 
good idea and should be removed ASAP!  We also have a secondary issue, 
the construction of the logical tree to determine where in the Control 
Center various options should be located.  I suggest that formal logic 
CAN be used to determine the best possible tree.

In the construction of this tree, the uninformed input of users is 
useful, even though it might not be the final answer.

-- 
JRT
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