Re: Major change in desktop handling

[MArk Finlay <sisob eircom net>]

> I'm currently using $HOME as desktop because people argued that I would
> have to do that (again) for a while to form an opinion. ;) And yes, it's
> more convenient right now than using .gnome-desktop. BUT, that's mostly
> because .gnome-desktop is almost inaccessible from our file selector.
> Once we get a new one which defaults to ~/Desktop, this problem would be
> solved and having this as a human readable directory should also work
> reasonably well for "legacy file selectors". 
> 
> I still think that ~/Desktop is the way to go for very simple reasons:
> * You can get exactly the same result as "$HOME as desktop" by simply
> defaulting Nautilus and the file selector to ~/Desktop (if you want
> that). 

No, that's not the same. Almost ALLL applications default to ~/ for
creating or saving files. And not everything will be using the new gtk
file selector, and what about the console? I dont want to "cd Desktop"
all the time. The bigest benefit of $HOME as desktop is having all these
files appear on the desktop so I can organise them, instead of having
them appear in my "home directory".

> * Most people aren't used to be restricted to their desktop as
> "everything they have". They use the desktop as a workspace which is
> often as chaotic as their "real" desktop. :) 

And most users aren't used to our reversed button order - that didn't
stop us then. I totally agree with you that most people desktops are a
mess - and so are their home directories. That is partly because the
desktop/home dir system does not help them to keep themselves organised.
See my other e-mail for more waffle on that...

> By making this impossible,
> you just remove a feature for no particular reason other than "people
> don't need to learn that they can use more than their desktop".

I really don't concider this a feature. Was the old gnome control center
a feature? ;)

> * Considering that this isn't providing any new functionality and only a
> very questionable simplification, I just can't see why this is worth
> fighting for with all opponents (those who want a "clean" desktop, those
> who don't like having their secret loveletters in a folder on their
> desktop, those who want their desktop free for temporary work, etc) and
> "the other large desktop environment" instead of just going on for the
> sake of progress.

Don't know about you, but I'm here because Gnome is all about doing
things the "Right Way(Tm)" even if it means going against the crowd :)
 
> Ok there is another good reason for $HOME as desktop: The "Home" icon on
> the desktop is illogical and providing an endless loop
> (~/Desktop/Home/Desktop/Home/...), also making it difficult for users to
> understand the real connection between their $HOME and their desktop
> (desktop lives in their $HOME, not the other way around). Something
> should be done about this IMHO (like removing this icon or at least
> making it appear less like a folder).

Agreed.

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