Re: Info sucks?
First off, I think this thread is right on target. It is
important for the debian system to be well designed and have a consistant
interface.
<<- snip ->>
> It is possible (really!) to design an interface that's easy and powerful for
> everyone *including* us. Don't duplicate a bad UI just because you're used
> to it -- design it well, and your program will be better for everyone.
A point that Norman makes, and that is constantly ignored is that
it is *NOT* enough to design a new UI, no matter how good it is. I could
design the best UI ever, but it is going to confuse the hell out of people
if it is completely inconsistant with every other UI out there that
predated it.
This is a fact of life that too many people ignore.
When I start a new program, I can get around and figure it out,
because of my cultural background. I know what the likely keypresses are
to exit and copy and paste and fire my missiles. No matter how good your
UI is, if you make me press a different key combo to fire my missiles,
it'll take me longer to learn your interface, and my lack of patience (a
well known trait that UI designers don't take into consideration as much)
will make me less likely to learn your UI.
The moral of the story is that there is a well defined set of
conventions in place already. Some of them truely suck. Tough. As a
program writer you *MUST* support them. You can try to introduce new
ones, but you should also keep a handle on the old ones for people who
don't want to use yours.
-Seth
--
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion"
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