Re: RGSG - File Menu

[John R Sheets <dusk smsi-roman com>]

Dan Kaminsky wrote:
> 
> So lesse, why does the user quit?
> 
> 1)  Done dealing with these files, wants out
> 2)  Sick of dealing with all these files, wants out
> 3)  All these files are taking too much memory, user wants out
 
Okay, so here's a fine point: You don't "quit" a file.  You
"close" a file.  Conversely, you can "close" or "quit" an
application.  The danger with associating the same term with
conceptually different actions is increased user confusion &
mis-clicks (which can become very frustrating when it leads to
terminating the whole application).  

> >> Am I missing something here?
> >
> >You seem to be taking a very File-centric view of applications.  Take
> >another look at just which applications really NEED files.
> 
> All applications have states, and few applications literally couldn't save
> those states.

Is this an argument for keeping the File menu?  Just because
applications are always associated with files, doesn't mean the
user wants to think about it like that.  The word "file" is a
very computer-centric term (in this context).  It is very
comfortable for experienced users, simply because that's how it
has always (ahem) been used.  

However.  For newer users who aren't familiar with the "file"
concept, it is much more intuitive to think in terms of "Game",
"Project", and "Document" (not necessarily as menu headings, but
as components of their applications).  They will think of a
"file" as something that belongs in a filing cabinet.  Not as a
collection of intangible binary data stored on their hard drive.

So my question is: how is using "File" as the central concept of
an application _more_ intuitive than the other concepts that have
been discussed here recently?

John