Re: guessing, speculation, and opinion

["Dan Kaminsky" <effugas best com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Russell Nelson <nelson@crynwr.com>
To: gnome-gui-list@gnome.org <gnome-gui-list@gnome.org>
Date: Friday, July 24, 1998 5:47 PM
Subject: Re: guessing, speculation, and opinion


>Dan Kaminsky writes:
> > >There's a simple answer to whether one or more menus in the panel is
> > >good: test it.  But that would be work, and it's much easier for the
> > >lazy man to guess, speculate, and opine.
> >
> > Heh, I didn't start a flame war and I ain't gonna get into one.
>
>I don't want one either.  GUIs start flame wars whenever people guess
>(yes, even educated guesses) what elements are best.  The quickest way
>to douse the flames is to ask for citations to the HCI literature.


You remind me of a person I debated once.  I offered a marginally complete
version of a social contract, and in cross examination I was challenged as
to whose social contract I was utilizing.  "My own", said I, knowing full
well I had elements of a number of different contractarian theories.  But,
no matter how much I offered to justify my various theory components, my
opponent refused to allow me the courtesy of an opinion.  If I wasn't
copying someone else, he reasoned, I must not have anything of substance.

Needless to say, the judge wasn't exactly impressed, and neither was I.

I don't know what you think.  I *do* know that you attempted to drag me into
a flame war by calling me a guessing, speculating, and opining lazy man who
refuses to work.  I *also* know I've spent *hours* working out possible UI
components in this group, and hours more working on an interface mockup to
illustrate everything *this group* comes up with.  Can I code?  Not yet.
One point I have started to see in HCI literature that there probably should
be non-programmer HCI experts around during the design of an interface
because what's obvious to a programmer isn't often obvious to the user.

Now, quit mentioning HCI literature and give us some *links* to some.  Also,
can you please explain pie menus?  I've never heard of them.