Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-gnome (75 mails)
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Re: [opensuse-gnome] Removing icons from menus by default
- From: Dan Goodman <Dan.Goodman@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 02:31:43 -0400
- Message-id: <4A14F54F.9060203@xxxxxxxx>
Hans Petter Jansson wrote:
functionality equates to less aesthetically pleasing.
And I would think that this aesthetic ideal is fairly strong among the
type of user who would be attracted to Linux in general, and *SUSE linux
in particular.
For both this issue and the icons off the desktop by default issue, I do
not believe that less is more...it is always easier to know that an
option to remove might exist, if something is visible, than to even be
aware of the existence of an option to add, if that option begins as
hidden.
The average newcomer to linux and/or our distro is probably smart enough
to look for, and find a way to turn things off. But it is technical
arrogance to think that a so-called "streamlined" design is so good that
either users should be discouraged from going down a different path, or
that they should have to study to learn about (initially) invisible
features if they still want them.
My $0.02 US, for what it's worth...
I say it is better to make features closer to where our new users are
likely to be coming from, as a default. If one feels that a different
paradigm is much better, then make it an easy switch (both ways!), but
don't throw the new way in front of them and hope that they won't get
frustrated (and quit) if the leap forward is too great to be a
comfortable transition.
I am moving away from very many icons on the desktop, but I want to see
the familiar ones there, and recognizable, at least at the outset. And I
want visual and textual pointers to menu options, with the option for
either or both. I even like being able to override this (persistently)
for subsets, where possible.
In case you can't tell, I HATE when I want to experiment with something
new, and find out that it has assumed that I must want it active and
persistent, just because I download it to explore. Similarly, I feel
that way about install defaults for an entire WM or distro.
Let's start out with sound engineering -- the principle of least
disruption plus maximum flexibility -- rather than starting with pushing
new paradigms, and hiding the more "traditional", read familiar, ways of
doing things.
</soapbox off>
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On Fri, 2009-05-15 at 12:50 +0200, Vincent Untz wrote:If you believe that form should follow function, then loss of some
What do people think about setting
/desktop/gnome/interface/menus_have_icons to FALSE by default?
I'm trying this, and while a few things needs some changes (panel menus,
mainly), I believe it makes the interface feel more stream-lined. So
this might be something we could consider for 11.2...
I'm pretty sure it'll make the menus harder to scan, and it'll take
longer to visually locate standard items like the "Print", "Save" and
"Quit" items.
Aesthetically I don't have a strong preference.
functionality equates to less aesthetically pleasing.
And I would think that this aesthetic ideal is fairly strong among the
type of user who would be attracted to Linux in general, and *SUSE linux
in particular.
For both this issue and the icons off the desktop by default issue, I do
not believe that less is more...it is always easier to know that an
option to remove might exist, if something is visible, than to even be
aware of the existence of an option to add, if that option begins as
hidden.
The average newcomer to linux and/or our distro is probably smart enough
to look for, and find a way to turn things off. But it is technical
arrogance to think that a so-called "streamlined" design is so good that
either users should be discouraged from going down a different path, or
that they should have to study to learn about (initially) invisible
features if they still want them.
My $0.02 US, for what it's worth...
I say it is better to make features closer to where our new users are
likely to be coming from, as a default. If one feels that a different
paradigm is much better, then make it an easy switch (both ways!), but
don't throw the new way in front of them and hope that they won't get
frustrated (and quit) if the leap forward is too great to be a
comfortable transition.
I am moving away from very many icons on the desktop, but I want to see
the familiar ones there, and recognizable, at least at the outset. And I
want visual and textual pointers to menu options, with the option for
either or both. I even like being able to override this (persistently)
for subsets, where possible.
In case you can't tell, I HATE when I want to experiment with something
new, and find out that it has assumed that I must want it active and
persistent, just because I download it to explore. Similarly, I feel
that way about install defaults for an entire WM or distro.
Let's start out with sound engineering -- the principle of least
disruption plus maximum flexibility -- rather than starting with pushing
new paradigms, and hiding the more "traditional", read familiar, ways of
doing things.
</soapbox off>
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