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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [KDE Usability] On the future of the menubar
From:       Aurélien_Gâteau <agateau () kde ! org>
Date:       2010-03-02 9:16:58
Message-ID: 4B8CD78A.7000302 () kde ! org
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On 03/02/10 01:56, James Tyrer wrote:
> todd rme wrote:
>> On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 8:39 AM, Dotan Cohen<dotancohen@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Is that not true of a PDF viewer? The whole page doesn't fit on a
>>> vertical screen (even less on a widescreen). So why does Okular
>>> still have a menubar?
>>
>> Probably because people who don't want it can turn it off easily
>> enough.
>>
> Quite true and relevant.  SystemSettings should have a MenuBar since the
> user can turn it off if they need the space.

There is, I believe, two ways to approach the KDE HIG: the paladin way 
and the user-centered way.

The paladin way goes like this: "Thou shall follow the rules of the 
mighty KDE HIG!"

The user-centered way goes more like this: "Whenever possible follow the 
KDE HIG, because this ensure your user gets a consistent user 
experience. If however you feel the HIG do not provide the best user 
experience in your application, user experience is what matters first".

What would a HIG compliant menubar in System Settings contain?
- Quit
- Configure (to switch between the two layouts)
- Help

I bet most users do not miss such a menubar because Quit is reachable 
via the "x" button in the window titlebar, Configure and Help are in the 
toolbar.

I also bet most users and, to be bold, *all* netbook users, would highly 
dislike having to scroll to reach the bottom of a System Settings module 
just so that a useless menubar can be shown.

I believe System Settings developers followed the user-centered way.

To conclude I'll say that HIG stands for Human Interface *Guidelines*, 
not Human Interface *Laws*. If there is a good reason to ignore a 
guideline, one should ignore it. Of course, one must also be prepared to 
justify it because in most use cases what is in the HIG is relevant and 
helps bringing consistent user interfaces.

I believe System Settings is a case where deviating from the HIG on 
menubar is justified.

I also believe the work started on menus by Rekonq developers is very 
interesting and would be a nice addition to the HIG. If we extend the 
HIG to include this alternative to menubars, then System Settings can be 
made HIG compliant again.

Aurélien
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