Re: user levels, disclosure triangles, and preferences (was GNOME user environment brainstorming)

[Darin Adler <darin bentspoon com>]

On Wednesday, June 6, 2001, at 02:41  PM, Darin Adler wrote:

> This is a misunderstanding of the user level feature we implemented it in 
> Nautilus.

Oops. I meant to say:

This is a misunderstanding of the user level feature as we implemented it 
in Nautilus.

> For example, beginners in Nautilus get a home directory that is not $HOME.
>  Experts who want to use

Oops. I meant to say:

To give the most-extreme example, beginners in Nautilus get a home 
directory that is not $HOME. Experts who want to use that beginner home 
directory can do so, by setting a preference. So the higher user levels 
can get the exact same experience as the lower user level, simply by 
setting the preferences appropriately. In most cases, the higher user 
level experience is identical, and all that's done is more preferences are 
revealed.

This suggests that instead of calling this a user level, we could call it 
a "preferences level" or something like that.

I guess I should also mention that this user level approach was pioneered 
by Apple in their Finder and Microsoft in Word. In earlier releases, both 
of these programs had "simple" variants. In both cases, the simple 
versions had simplified menus and fewer preferences. A single switch gave 
you the more-advanced menus and preferences.

> This idea you have about going a higher user level, tweaking a feature 
> that was hidden, and then going back to the lower user level is not part 
> of it. There's no reason to "switch back" to your old user level. And if 
> you do switch back, any settings that are hidden.

Oops. I meant to say:

And if you do switch back, any settings that are hidden go back to their 
standard setting.

    -- Darin