Re: [Rhythmbox-devel] Preferences feature request

[Mika Wahlroos <mpw iki fi>]

Hi,

Edgar Luna wrote:
> Given that the last song in the queue is called "s" and it comes from
> source called "S" (this is, the user went to that playlist or to the
> library and selected the song there), after queue is played always
> play S[s+1]. No matter which S is, forget in which source rhythmbox
> was before starting playing queue, just play S[s+1] or another opiton
> which seems odd to me is play S[1], the first song in the same source
> of the last song in the queue.

I can see how this might be useful in some use cases, but it would
almost ruin my common use case.

I use the play queue quite a lot, and I think the way I utilize it is
almost exactly as an "interrupt the normal flow of play order", as you
put it earlier.

Generally, there are two major ways in which I have Rhythmbox playing:
With shuffle off playing an entire album in order, or have it playing
either the full library or a playlist on shuffle. In the former case the
play queue isn't very useful. On the other hand, in the latter one I
quite often happen to get a track that reminds me of another that would
be just great after the currently playing one. It may not even be on the
same playlist I'm shuffling from, but it might be for example from the
same album as the currently playing track. Maybe I even come to think of
a few other pieces along the same track of though. I find them in
whatever way happens to be the most convenient one for me -- probably by
searching in the library -- and drag them into the queue. After getting
that done I go happily do whatever I'm inclined to do next, which
probably isn't playlist management.

If I were originally playing on shuffle from a certain playlist I was
probably doing that for a reason. Maybe the contents of that playlist
suit my mood, unlike random stuff in my library where I went to pick the
extra tracks for the queue when it came to my mind. An abrupt switch to
another source breaks the assumption that I'm playing from the playlist
suitable for the current situation.

This may be a highly personal use case, and if the majority thinks it's
more useful and intuitive to do otherwise, maybe it should be that way.
It's an interesting thought, so maybe discussion regarding that is in
place. That kind of source switching probably wouldn't do well for my
usual ways of using the software, though.

Doing some magic such as automagically skipping the track that was just
played from the queue in case the same track also happens to be the next
to play in the "normal" order of things might be worth thinking about.
That might give some of the benefits of this kind of a system without
changing the active source.

Regards,
Mika