Re: Some things I think GNOME should improve

[Les Paul <lespaul23es gmail com>]

2013/4/11 Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>:

> We don't make manuals in GNOME. We don't think people should have to
> read documentation before starting to use something. We absolutely do
> not write documentation that assumes people will read cover to cover.
>
> What we do with our help is try to anticipate user questions and give
> succinct answers. That kind of help is only used if users know it's
> there and can access it quickly and easily.
>
> I have no idea why a single menu item bothers you so much. But if we
> were to bury the help as you suggest, then it might as well not even
> exist. Nobody will find it.
>
> --
> Shaun

Yes, I know that you develop the application so the user know how to
use it without reading anything. It was just an answer to Adam. And I
think my comparison to a DVD player with the manual (or FAQ) attached
to it is still valid.

What bothers me is not the presence of help and settings option. It is
the fact that something as few used as this difficults me something as
used as close the window. If Gnome wouldn't have changed the system to
close applications (the classic "X") I wouldn't say anything of this.
And it doesn't bother me so much. It's just a detail that I think
would improve the user experience. But you are who has to make balance
and decide if the pros win the cons, or not. I was just making my
point.

I don't agree people wouldn't find it. Maybe people is used to have
the help option in the same application, but a "Help" application
which contains the help for all applications (or Gnome applications),
and which you can see from the start, I think is pretty intuitive. If
people did find the Exit menu (or even the help option) on the title
bar, they will find it in the "Help" application, if it is shown from
the start. I don't have a way to prove this, but I think it is obvious
that a person which don't find the help option will look for it on the
Help application. Which is not Gnome Shell Help. Just Help. You could
sit a few of common users in front of Gnome Shell (maybe familiars or
friends that aren't developers) and ask them: "Imagine the help option
disappears from the title bar. Where would you look for it?" Give them
two minutes. If most of them figure it out in less than two minutes,
I'd call it intuitive.