Re: why so much hate?
Michael Merten wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 19, 1999 at 04:31:16PM +1000, Carley, Jason (Australia) wrote:
> > I think that is a little harsh. I totally agree that everyone should read
> > the docs. However, that does not create an excuse for unintuitive interface
> > design. An app that is designed to cover new as well as experienced users
>
> I really have to step in here. The 'intuitive' argument is habitually
> used to argue against *any* software that doesn't conform in every way
> to the expectation of whoever is trying to use it. There is no
> 'intuitive interface' and users expectations vary greatly depending on
> their background. A wise man once sayeth:
>
Sure there is room here for opinion. Mine however, as a new user of debian, is that
dselect can be improved. It is not a slight on the fabric of debian merely an
observation. Having just ben through the process of installation, I feel I can
comment with some recency.
I am sure you are very experienced with debian and can thus use almost all of its
tools better than I can. But there are areas where dselect can be difficult to
follow and somewhat dangerous to use if you are not totally familiar with it. I guess
it is an appropriate proving ground, a test if you will. But is that really the
point of a package management application?
Why not have a novice mode in dselect? That way any expert user can plug away with
the current format. new users could have more handholding?
>
> The only "intuitive" interface is the nipple. After that, it's
> all learned. -- Bruce Ediger, bediger@teal.csn.org, on X interfaces
I don't know that that quote adds much... I reality we have all seen bad interfaces
and good interfaces. In general I think that a good interface should enable a
technical person to sit down without a lot of prior training and work their way
through the application. Not perfectly but safely and in such a way that some work
can be accomplished. As I said in an earlier post, for a tool that comes up in the
initial installation phase, I think this is even more important. Some users are
coming across from Windows and need all the help they can get with the install lest
they fail to appreciate the usefulness of Linux because they can't get it installed.
Regards,
Jason.
Reply to: