Re: Word Processors

[Quantum Seep <qseep technojunkie com>]

One other thing.  An objection might be raised against my arguments that
newbies just want to get things done as quickly as possible - they don't
want to have to learn a program before they use it.  However, I insist that
software has a dual purpose - to get the job done, and at the same time, to
teach the user about their job.  I don't mean by some cutesy cartoon.  I
simply mean that the software should be easy to get into, but the user
should gradually become more of an expert at it, not just because they're
learning the interface, but because they're learning something about their
task.

Wizards don't aid in this process.  They only make the computer sound smug. 
Tooltips (aka balloon help), and "tips of the day" (presented discreetly)
are fine.  But if you don't know what to answer on the wizard, or if you
make a mistake, you could be in trouble.

On the other hand, if it's just you and the machine, but the machine is
finely tuned to do its task - carefully architected along lines which mirror
the task's very nature, then to know the machine is to know the task -
certainly a desirable situation.  Provided there are no bugs in the
software, then every mistake is your own, not the computer's.  Instead of
getting frustrated with the computer, you'll see the mistake immediately,
undo it, and learn.  The only way you can get frustrated with yourself is if
you think you can't do the task, because the computer is no longer in the
way.

Now somebody is going to tell me this is a load of sophomoric BS.  Maybe.  I
need to think of some more concrete examples to flesh out my argument.  Then
I'll figure out why I'm wrong.  Or you can save me the trouble by telling me
now - no, wait, that would violate my stated principle of learning for
yourself.  Hmm...

BTW I think Emacs exemplifies many of the charactersitics I have been
discussing - it's just not embodied in proper GUI form.

/-------- Quantum Seep, qseep@iname.com ---
  "His funny bone's connected to the M-bone"
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