Re: remove interface tab (please don't)

[Dylan McCall <dylanmccall gmail com>]

On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 5:14 PM, DARKGuy . <dark guy 2008 gmail com> wrote:
> I agree on keeping the Interface tab. I always used it on first gnome
> installs to remove the text under the icons and make the toolbars more
> compact - windows-like. I hate big toolbars anyways... it kind of
> makes you feel that your current monitor isn't using the screen space
> as --efficiently-- as windows or mac...

It may interest you to know that text _beside_ icons (as opposed to
below) has been the default since 2.26.

> I always say: Don't force settings on the user, or at least if you
> have to, give them choice. Linux should be customizable, right?

Absolutely not. The only customization that Linux (or, I assume you
mean, open source software) demands is that source code be available
for people to tinker with. If you look around, you'll find that many
respectable platforms which use Linux (Maemo, Palm WebOS, Android)
forego trivial options like this to obtain a more cohesive experience,
especially with their respective ecosystems of third party
applications.

> ... it makes no sense to spend time hacking something that was working
> before. Why not hack to --improve-- something?. It's pointless to hack
> to improve something that was previously improved.

If you're talking about consistency and applications supporting your
preferred approach (smaller toolbars), this change is absolutely an
improvement. It's a decisive step, yes, but it means that every
installation of the GNOME desktop can be expected (with rare
exception) to have this behaviour. Applications can then be designed
towards that behaviour, producing a stronger experience for our users.
It's similar to what the HIG does for us, really.


Thanks,
Dylan