Re: libgnome: User level

[Christian Rose <menthos menthos com>]

Calum Benson wrote:
> > Also, a default value should exist somewhere.  When I install GNOME for
> > the first time, I should be asked what user level to use.
> 
> But if you've never used it before (which will presumably be true of
> most people installing anything for the first time), how do you know
> what user level you're going to be?  (If your answer to this is
> "beginner, obviously", then there's no point in asking you during the
> installation-- the default should just be "beginner"...)
> 
> But that's one of the issues with user levels, for me... asking users to
> categorise themselves always seems like a bit of a cop-out, especially
> as they're often not very good at it.  (Example: in most surveys, >80%
> of drivers consider themselves to be "better than average"...)

I think the main reason for that dialog being there is to inform the
user of the concept of user levels and that the environment is affected
by this setting. I agree, the point should not be to *force* the user to
make an active choice, but I think it would be bad to remove it
completely, mainly because of its informational nature. People really
like to flame when their favorite expert feature seems to have
disappeared completely...

Possibly, the choice would not have to be removed but could just be
emphasized somewhat less - the dialog could inform about the concept and
that this is a setting that can be changed at any time. At the same
time, it could offer the user to change the setting immediately if that
is wanted. This could be done by pressing a seperate button in that
dialog that shows another dialog where the user levels can be
configured. This way, only those who actively choose to choose will be
presented with the choice.


Christian