Hello, On Feb 11 11:09 Marc Chamberlin wrote (excerpt):
Johannes - Your thoughts are very welcomed, but I am in strong disagreement with you also.
I think actually there is not much disagreement.
Your complaint about the lack of getting feedback and help from newcomers again boils down to how the tool and its support subsystem was designed.
A longer time ago we had a feedback system for Suse Linux but it was shut down - I don't know the reason but I guess it was because the company which made Suse Linux could no longer justify to pay those who evaluate the tons of incomming feedback. If there was unlimited resouces...
... complaints are extremely valuable, IF AND ONLY IF you take the time to LISTEN and understand where the problem really lies, and take the time to then correct it.
I absolutely agree. But note your wording "take the time". If there was unlimited resouces...
Answers, such as ... - RTFM - is so wrong on so many levels.
I absolutely agree. If a normal end-user must read documentation for a tool which is meant to be used by a normal end-user, there is something wrong. Of course a perfectly designed tool which is meant to be used by a normal end-user would not need documentation how to use it. But documentation is a relatively cheap way to somehow inform the user how a tool should be used. If there was unlimited resouces...
... it is the developers who are beating their heads against a wall, insisting that users RTFMs, designing tools in a now 30 year old fashion, and not being willing to LISTEN to users and change their approach in software design and development.
Here I disagree. In general developers follow users. I think very most developers are willing to listen to their users and are listening to their users as far as possible for them. It would not make any sense if a free software developer would insist not to change something in his software when the change makes sense for the developer. Often free software developers are experts in a certain area or at least experienced users of certain tools who make the tools first and foremost according to their own needs. Then there could be a difference in what changes other users like to have and what changes make sense for the developer. Other users cannot command free software developers. Only if a user would pay his developers he could command them.
Successful software development is going to be judged in terms of usability. Functionality is 10% of the battle, and currently gets 90% of many if not most software developer's focus. That focus HAS to change to be closer to 50/50.
From time to time I use an older Linux system and when I compare
I absolutely agree. But I don't see how such a change could happen currently. Currently a Linux distribution is mainly the result of what free software developers implement according to their own needs. Unless many usability experts join free software development or unless there is much more payment for usability experts and non-free developers who implement for money what others want to get from them, the free software must be accepted "as is". I think because very most developers listen to their users there is progress over the time - only some patience is needed. this stuff with what we have nowadays I see a lot of progress. Regards Johannes Meixner -- SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Maxfeldstrasse 5, 90409 Nuernberg, Germany AG Nuernberg, HRB 16746, GF: Markus Rex -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org