Re: ANNOUNCE: Style Guide available for review.

[Peter Norton <spacey inch com>]

[ I didn't write any of the guidelines, I'm just posting the reasons that
*I* see for the guidelines that you've voiced concerns over. ]

On Fri, Feb 13, 1998 at 02:40:14AM -0600, Shawn T. Amundson wrote:
> This style guide is exactly the type of thing that turned
> me off of KDE the first time I read theirs.  Please allow
> me to explain.
> 
>   "At least a single menubar should... "
> 
> That is not correct.  A calculator may be an application which does 
> not require a menubar.  Also, what about a app like gmix.  Or an 
> even simpler volume changer?  What about a MIDI player tool like
> KDE has?  A menus should *not* necessarily be on these apps.

> The style guide needs to explain *why*.

Having menubars in every app gives a user a consistant reference point
from which to explore their options. It is conforting to a user to have a
menubar in every application because as long as it's there, and there are
certian choices, you've given the user explicit control over their
environment, in a way that they understand.  Users like that kinda stuff
as much as programmers do.

>   "The menubar must contain at least two entires: 'File' and 'Help'".
> 
> The style guide needs to explain *why*.  Why not 'Task' for Gtt
> for example.  I want references; who says this?  Has there been 
> some research which explains why this should be?

One reason is consistancy.  True, the name "file" may not actually
perfectly, logically suit everything that is in that menu.  However if you
mandate that certian menus are there, and they're *alwyas* there, then
you have made your first step to user acceptance.  I have seen mac users
*revile* programs because the programmer didn't obey the apple guidelines.

In other words, Even if it doesn't seem to make much sense to the
programmer, it provides a basic level of familiarity to a user.  As for
references - The Macintosh Style Guide.  I'm just going to say that what
works for the Mac will work for anyone, and the proof is how may rabid
followers and imitators swear by interface guidelines that apple set out.

>   "Applications should not allow users to change the default
>    bindings for common operations."
> 
> I'm not convinced that isn't a typo.  I definately have no intention
> of following it.  The style guide needs to explain *why*. 

Isn't it because there's going to be a centralized set of useful
keybindings which will be manipulated by one program, so they can set
these for themselves globally, for everything they use, but each
application shouldn't do it for itself? 
 
> My only point is it needs to explain *why*.  It needs to give specific 
> examples and explainations, not be a list we have all noticed about 
> windows.

I'm sure that in this sort of a venture, Sometimes the reason will be
"because it works".  

-Peter