Re: [Nautilus-list] re: Desktop folder (again)

[Emmanuel PACAUD <emmanuel pacaud univ-poitiers fr>]

I did not mention that I'am convinced the desktop = home should not be
the default option. My thought was just about a way to solve the problem
of icons that a technical user want to get rid of his desktop.

For non technical users, there's a high risk for them to delete
important folders like evolution instead of simply hiding them.

  Emmanuel.

Le mer 03/04/2002 à 15:06, Marten Payne a écrit :
> Yes but that doesn't solve the problem of icons spontaneously appearing
> the first time the file or folder they represent is created and that
> remains what I consider the biggest fault of this solution: that the
> spatial relationships of icons on a users desktop can be changed without
> that users permission. Sure, once the icon has appeared (disorienting
> the user), they can "emblem" it as "don't show on desktop because the
> stoopid desktop thinks it rules the world and doesn't believe in apps
> that don't agree with home = desktop", but, as I said, the fundamental
> problem remains. Besides, I'd love to see the results of a study on how
> many non-technical users of the Nautilus desktop actually use emblems
> heavily. I doubt that the percentage is high. But then I am starting to
> get the impression that Nautilus desktop is being designed by developers
> for developers, which is sad because studies have shown that programmers
> create much more structured hierarchies within their information than
> most people, ergo a desktop which suits the habits of a programmer will
> not be usable by the majority of non-developers.
> 
> So my point remains: do real usability testing with real people and then
> decide on the implementation details. Do not reach conclusions based on
> discussions between some of the most technically gifted developers in
> the world because they just aren't representative. And if doing
> usability testing is a bad idea, I'd like people to have the
> constitution to say it publicly, not just avoid the issue by going off
> on tangents.
> 
> Marten.
> 
> 
> On Wed, 2002-04-03 at 22:17, Emmanuel PACAUD wrote:
> > Le mer 03/04/2002 à 13:20, Marten Payne a écrit :
> > > You probably get the point I am trying to make; specifically that the
> > > GNOME desktop should be implemented in a way that "plays nice" with all
> > > the non-GNOME apps which were written with the assumption that home !=
> > > desktop in mind. Before some decision is made on how the desktop
> > > location is implemented, _please_ test this with a range of users
> > > (specifically people who are not developers). Then run it past the GNOME
> > > usability guys.
> > 
> > So we need a way to hide a subset of files in the desktop view.
> > 
> > Why not use a special "Hide in desktop view" emblem. This emblem would
> > cause a file to not be displayed in the desktop view, but be still
> > visible in the list/icon view in the nautilus window.
> > 
> > That means, when you want to hide a file in the desktop view, you drop
> > the special emblem on it.
> > If you want the file to come back on the desktop view, you open a
> > nautilus window pointing to the desktop directory and remove the special
> > emblem.
> > 
> >   Emmanuel.
> >