Re: Debian menus policy
Markus Garscha <gaschi@mfr.de> writes:
> Hi!
>
> i listen to your discussion a while, and i've a annotation:
> you talk about a multi-dimensional menu structure where each user can
> choose its favorite model. i think it is a good idea - for startup!
> isn't there any posiblity to adopt the pefered menu-functions to the
> users needs? the problem is, that you cannot predict the favourite menu
> of an end-user, you only can estimate.
> i think a user should have the posibility to choose his prefered "view"
> and then (if he wishes) the frequent used items move in foreground. this
> can be done by counting the menu-item calls, or better you have an
> algorithm who notice references between programms (e.g. after reading
> mail with mutt the browser is started to visit some links).
> please remember, this is only an idea. i'm looking for such an
> "algorithm" by myself because i try to adopt the menu-structure of a
> large website to the users behaviour...
I disagree. Generally, menus are not intended for launching
frequently used applications. For WindowMaker, frequently used stuff
should be put in the dock; in KDE, the buttons on the taskbar should
be used; and so on for other window managers/desktop environments.
The menu system is intended for finding an application that is not
frequently used. Maybe you don't have any idea what application you
want, or you can't remember its name, or you just use it so
infrequently that you don't want its icon cluttering your interface.
For most tasks, you won't be using the menus.
Therefore, I wouldn't worry about customizing it for the user. I
would prefer a fixed layout that is optimal for most users, rather
than having to figure out what layout is optimal for me.
Of course, if a user wishes to customize the menus, they should be
able to, as they can now. However, I wouldn't worry about giving the
user any options.
--
Brian Nelson <nelson@bignachos.com>
BigNachos@jabber.org
http://bignachos.com
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