Re: [GnomeMeeting-devel-list] Re: Sound events and GnomeMeeting

[Rodney Dawes <dobey free fr>]

On Die , 2003-11-16 at 22:19, Jeff Waugh wrote:
> <quote who="Rodney Dawes">
> 
> > An initial draft if you will. I will rethink parts of it and make a better
> > mockup soon, but it seems like something we definately need. Maybe it
> > would be a good idea to put up more screen shots of what other desktops
> > like KDE, BeOS, QNX, and XFCE do.
> 
> Better to figure out what users need first.

Needs and wants are very different.

>  I would strongly suggest that
> users want "ding" when an application requires their attention, and that the
> circumstances in which an application should demand that attention are so
> few and far between (cf. dialogues), that a single, identifiable "ding"
> sound will easily satisfy the aural notification requirement.

No. A simple "ding" to signify a dialog popping up, or that self
destruct has been initiated is not going to do it. Having the user go
through all the applications they have open to see what made the "ding"
is broken. It makes for more problematic user interfaces than what we
have already.

>  We should not
> be dinging for fun. We should not be dinging on the off chance that a user
> is interested in some descriptive randomosity Random J. Developer thought
> was important... and we don't need a jungle of sounds to interrupt our users
> with. Those are MHOs with regards to user requirements, anyway. :-)

We don't ding for fun. Generally, when I get new mail, I don't think
"fun". We would not be dinging on the off chance that there is some
descriptive randomness that a developer thought was important. And, no
there would be no "jungle" of sounds to interrupt users with. If a user
wants to hear the sounds of an African rain forest when something
important on their computer happens though, they should damn well be
able to do so. As stated before, when and how to emit sound events is
something that needs to be taken care of by the Human Interface
Guidelines, as well as what type of sounds to use.

> Again, specific applications with more detailed requirements are free to
> handle them all on their own.

We aren't a specific application with more detailed requirements. We are
a desktop environment trying to provide a solution for users to have a
desktop based on freedom and we are here to have the necessary
libraries, standards, and tools to allow developers to write those
specific applications and integrate them with the rest of the desktop.
Sound is a very large part of look and feel, especially with the
desktops of today. Why should I use a desktop where the sounds I hear
coming from it don't match how it looks, or feels, or how *I* feel?
This is what users want. Personalization. Identity. It's all about
being me.

Managed deployments are less so, but to an extent they still are.
Then again, the goal there is neutrality.

-- Rodney