Re: [orca-list] Off topic discussions

[Michael Whapples <mwhapples aim com>]

Hello,
I think most of what I would say has already been said. There is some 
extra stuff I would personally add.

I feel also questions which are easily answered by a small amount of 
research (eg. the answer is on the orca wiki, in the FAQ or in a few of 
the first ten results of a google search), do these really need asking 
here? I mean look in a few of the obvious places (orca wiki, FAQ, etc) 
before asking questions here. If you find you are trawling through 
documents and the answers their aren't clear enough then yes then ask 
the question for further explaination.

Further comments I have are closely related to what others have already 
said so I have put it inline below.
On 23/12/42 19:59, Willie Walker wrote:
> <div class="moz-text-flowed" style="font-family: -moz-fixed">> If I 
> ever write on this list to ask about adding a feature to Orca,
> > and I
> > know of that feature because I found it in JAWS, I'm sure going to 
> > mention
> > JAWS in my message.  We don't need to avoid the W-word or the J-word to
> > avoid engaging in philosophical or technical battles that belong 
> > elsewhere.
>
> I believe it's OK to mention Windows and JAWS.  I don't mind, as long 
> as the request is not "do this because JAWS does it that way and 
> that's what I'm used to.  period."  Those requests are not helpful,
Yes I think I agree with that. May be its I would word it differently, 
if another screenreader has a certain feature which I like then I might 
say that, eg. the request might be "X has feature Y which I really like. 
Can orca be given feature Y because I find Y helps me do...". Following 
this arguement I can see some reason for some of "because that is what I 
am used to." as sometimes we may have to keep switching back and forth 
between linux and windows computers and having a certain common feel can 
make it easier to switch back and forth. eg. if a particular key 
combination is used for an action then why be the exception (or at least 
allow the user to choose to follow the common choice) eg. most GUI 
applications dealing with files use control+o for open, but in the nano 
editor (I know it isn't a GUI app) it uses control+o for output file 
(control+r is for read file), it would save me from needing to keep 
remembering things are different when I use nano if I could configure it 
to use control+o for open. Although giving that example, its not 
actually one that catches me out, more times I have been caught pressing 
control+alt+d for the desktop in windows.

> IMO.  I also try to avoid the "us vs. them" mentality.  I'd rather 
> spend my energy on getting low cost compelling solutions to the user 
> than wasting time on some senseless religious battle.
Agreed, I have my views, I am sure others have their views. The 
individual's view on this might influence the choice of distro they use, 
but so does other factors. Simply put, I don't think there is one answer 
for all cases here.
> So, when a feature request comes in, I want something like: "I'm 
> trying to accomplish task X and wish there were some feature Y that 
> let me do this.  As a comparison, a feature that JAWS provides for 
> this is Z."  We can then explore more ideas about how you might 
> accomplish task X and come up with ways to do so efficiently.  If it 
> ends up being something similar to feature Z and we can figure out a 
> way to do it in Orca, so be it.
>
> Note that a good task description is related to what you are trying to 
> accomplish in your daily activities, such as editing a document, 
> filling out a form on a web page, managing your music collection, 
> etc.  Once it is better understood what you're trying to accomplish, 
> we can work on features in Orca.
>
> Will
>
>
>
> </div>