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

List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Left Handed
From:       Gerry Gavigan <gerryg () uklinux ! net>
Date:       2005-09-05 14:16:38
Message-ID: 200509051516.38596.gerryg () uklinux ! net
[Download RAW message or body]

On Monday 05 September 2005 14:14, Fred Schaettgen wrote:

Fred, 

Thank you for engaging

>
> Being a converted ex-lefty and no usability expert I am probably just
> unable to comprehend the troubles of heavily left handed people.

I understand that there is evidence that forcing left-handed people to be 
right handed gives rise to other issues such as stuttering and other 
psychological effects (more and less serious to a greater and lesser degree)

> But are 
> you sure that swapping this and that will actually make things any better
> for you or other hard-left people?

You sound like a right hander to me : )

This feels reminiscent of being forced to be right handed at school (a 
phenomenon only relatively recently abandoned in England (I don't know about 
elsewhere in the UK) - 30ish years 

Waiting for moderation is a photograph of my left-handed cheque book - 
provided by a UK bank.  I'll say no more until the post is moderated up or 
down
>
> You mentioned a a left handed ruler - isn't the only reason for putting the
> numbers on the other side to make it easier to *hold* it in the left hand?

absolutely not - it's so we can hold it in our right hands and draw the pencil 
from right to left with the numbers increasing

> It's the same for scissors, knifes and what else.

As the web site explains, it's slightly more complicated than that.  For a  
computer desktop try and imagine that the "K" is the bottom right hand corner 
and observe the pressure on your right hand wrist and elbow - you have to 
adjust your whole body position to make it comfortable 

> But the "left handed" 
> clock which is offered on the web page you mentioned is - correct me if I'm
> wrong - just a stupid joke my eyes. You don't have to hold it in your hand.

you are right that the clock is a joke (they are allowed...)  but actually it 
refers to a left-handed fact: we do things anti-clockwise naturally (watch 
one of us stir a cup of tea - or get shouted at by a right handed cook as we 
take the air out of the mixture when its our turn to do the beating)

>
> It's the same for most parts of a GUI. What goes left and what goes right
> is just a convention.

not so, it's a convention based on right handedness - it's easier to explain 
on a graphics tablet - see bugs.kde.org circa 2002 - moreover I have to adopt 
a totally different body position - the inward sweep (CW for you CCW for me) 
is the natural and easier movement 

> I can't think of a reason why left handed people 
> should have a different idea of the order of the OK/Cancel button. You have
> to press either one in no particular order and you can do it with the left
> hand if you prefer.

apologies, I think this one arose because I didn't explain myself very well in 
the first place - my post to be moderated covers this - I was trying to refer 
to the close tabs/open tabs buttons on konqueror rather than OK/Cancel 

>
> I don't think that it does any good to left handed people, if we try to
> create a mirror-inverted microcosmos in KDE. If you set your KDE up
> yourself the other way round, then eventually 

not eventaully, quickly - it's more natural

> you will be better with this 
> layout 

exactly

> and worse with the conventional layout. 

I don't want to sound like an oppressed minority but as with ticket barriers 
(cf earlier posts)  my conventional is not your conventional 

see left-handed rulers (especially technical drawing sets) and the redesign of 
irons and electric kettles.  Unless you are as old as me you might not 
remember how (looking from above) the lead for an iron used to emerge from 
the side of the handle pointing right ("away" for a right-handed user)  

power tools are (and will be for a long time yet, I suspect) are the ultimate 
challenge - with a circular saw, for example, I can either hold it the wrong 
way round and screw the cut or hold it the right (left...) way round and 
stare into the blade (flying chips and bits to the face, right hand in danger 
of getting in the way etc...) 

> So it becomes a 
> self-fulfilling prophecy that it's better for lefties to swap everything.

While I am sure there was no intention, I think the phrase self-fulfilling has 
the potential for being inflammatory, being left-handed is not a fad 

> But I doubt that you will ever become more efficient with such a setup,

see rulers and other stuff, including the left handed computer keyboard on the 
left-handed  website and also it's more comfortable and so yes it will 
contribute to efficiency  

> Could it be that either you either have just been influenced by other
> applications which put those buttons somewhere else or that you tend to mix
> up left and right sometimes? 

I think we've discussed that one now -apologies again for the confusion

> This seems to happen to a lot of people from 
> time to time, but it rarely becomes a problem. Maybe it would be marginally
> better to put widgets that represent two converse choices (like OK vs.
> Cancel) vertically instead of horizontally. But I don't expect that it will
> make a big difference for most people, and the cost in terms of wasted
> screen space is just too big.

and that one

Gerry
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability

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