Re: why kde and gnome's menu situation sucks
On 10/24/2002 6:58 PM, Michael Cardenas at michaelc@lindows.com wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 24, 2002 at 06:24:54PM -0400, Luke Seubert wrote:
>> Well, the goal is to have very similar menus for both KDE and Gnome. Same
>> basic structure, submenus, items listed within submenus, etc.
>>
>> However, under Gnome, and this is just a quick example - if you select
>> Start/Internet/Email (Evolution) you would open up Evolution.
>>
>> But under KDE, it would be Start/Internet/Email (Aethera). Same menu
>> structure, and same type of app in the same location - just a different app
>> depending upon the desktop environment.
>>
>> Does this sound like a reasonable solution?
>>
>
> Ahh, no. The quickest way to piss off users is to make things
> unpredictable. The same action should have the same results.
>
Hmm, OK. But if the user is in KDE, the above action will open up a nice
email client/PIM. If the user is in Gnome, the above action will open up a
nice email client/PIM.
Does this not qualify as meeting your standard, "Same action should produce
same results"?
Don't get me wrong, I agree with the standard you set forth. I am just
trying to understand how rigorously you believe it should be applied.
Now, if you truly want to have the same action produce *exactly* the same
result; then I would politely suggest that you are sort of advocating what
Red Hat 8.0 does with Bluecurve. We all know what a hullaballoo that
caused. Do we want Debian Desktop to attempt something similar within the
Debian community? Ouch :-/
> Also, an interface should teach users, so that as they use it, they
> learn more about what it is they're doing. This approach would not
> allow them to learn how to start "that other email program I use in
> kde", since it doesn't present them with its name anywhere.
>
I understand what your concern here is. Let me ask you this. How often do
you think this would be a valid worry? For example, think about the sort of
user that Debian Desktop is meant to appeal to. How often do you think that
sort of user will be switching desktop environments? Isn't it safe to say
that such users are pretty likely to pick just one desktop environment and
pretty much stick with that. In which case, a menu that does NOT offer BOTH
the KDE and Gnome email app is not such a problem, yes?
Anyway, please let me know your thoughts on my feedback. Your position in
contrary to my stated preference, but I am open to alternatives at this
juncture. This is brainstorming after all.
Cheers,
Luke Seubert
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