Re: [Evolution] Bounce/remail command

[Chon-Chon Tang <ztang weber lcs mit edu>]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2000, Giao Nguyen wrote:

> Users will always click on the "expert" feature. No one walks around
> saying, "Hi, I'm a newbie. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Please
> software, don't give me the other options that are grayed out in the menus
> and preference boxes because I'm a twit who just doesn't get it." Really. 

I really hate these types of generalizations, because they rarely
represent the "Truth" as some might insist.

So, let me be your counter-example.  I DON'T always click on the expert
features.  When my install-script tells me that I can use the standard vs.
custom install, I almost always click on the standard install because I
trust I have no need to tweak with specialized options that almost
certainly don't apply to me.  If I have a compelling enough need though,
having the option available is certainly a huge win.

I haven't been following this discussion too closely since it just seemed
like a rather silly disagreement about the value of ONE feature in a
complicated system.  Even worse, the disagreement isn't being resolved
with usability tests, user surveys, or at least compromise... instead I
hear a lot of grand-standing statements about what the developer assumes
to be true.  

My stance is simple: set up a process to troll for user feedback on the
relative values of each item on the feature list.  If this guy is the only
one on the planet who wants resend, then for the sake of less complexity
leave it out.  If he's not (and I suspect he's not), than the trade-offs
need to be considered in context of the complexity (in terms of
development and usability) it introduces. 

I couldn't care less about resend, but I certainly hope the features for
the rest of the system won't be decided in such an arbitrary manner.