RE: A call to action / Guidelines

["Gerry Chu" <gerrychu bigfoot com>]

I like that very, very much.

Gerry

> The Guidelines leave many higher-level problems unsolved.  For
> instance, even if the session management system has every button,
> switch, and light in proper order, users may still find it confusing
> to use on a conceptual level.  It may need to reorganize its interface
> in a new paradigm, or even add or lose some functionality.  How can
> developers get this sort of feedback, and what role might this list
> play?  I see the following possibilities:
> 
> 1. The developer(s) is part of a large organization that includes UI
> specialists.  In this case, gnome-gui-list is probably best advised to
> leave development in the hands of the experts, as there are too many
> other project getting zero UI attention to waste resources
> second-guessing other teams.  
> 
> 2. We see a need for UI attention in a particular program.  We
> approach the maintainer and ask them if they'd consider implementing
> some UI improvements if we came up with some suggestions.  If the
> response is positive, we have a conversation about the program over
> the list and/or IRC, and someone volunteers to summarize the
> discussion in the form of a report to the maintainer.  (Developers
> would be encouraged to participate in the discussion, of course.)
> 
> 3. If the maintainer in (2) says they have no time to implement UI
> improvements, but wouldn't otherwise be averse to them, then we still
> might find a volunteer who would be willing to consider implementing
> our suggestions.
> 
> 4. The situation is complicated, our expertise is insufficient, and/or
> the developers disagree with our off-the-top-of-our-heads suggestions.
> Someone needs to start collecting real-world data, perhaps by
> organizing UI feedback from users at large, or by getting the program
> on the agenda of UI experts and/or formal usability testing.
> 
> 5. A developer asks for our assistance.  Yay!  See 2.