Re: [Usability] user levels, etc.



> > User testing also prioritizes short term UI issues over long term UI
> > issues. Not to harp on this example, but... everyone I know who has tried
> > using ~/ as their desktop has found it vastly superior (from a utility
> > perspective) and stuck with it. User testing won't reflect that.  It'll
> > reflect that when given 30 seconds to find something in the configuration
> > screen, the additional option of using ~/ instead of ~/Desktop clutters
> > things up.
> 
> Did we actually get any really good usability testing done on this? Did
> Eazel? I really do agree that ~ as the desktop is better. *Hackers* may have
> a lot of files in their ~, but everyone else? :)

This preference is my "fault". I wanted to have desktop be ~/, and I
still feel that its a generally superior arrangement for novices and
advanced users, however there was disagreement on this point. If we
removed user levels from Nautilus I think this preference should not
remain. I would hope that we would change to using ~ by default, but if
not I will live ;-)

To my knowledge there hasn't been user testing done on the feature. In
terms of general thoughts on both sides, I feel like a use the desktop
the same way I use ~/. Additionally I think its nice that the default
location things download, save files to, etc is visible, and it has made
Nautilus useful to me in ways that it previously wasn't (because I
didn't want to wait for new windows to open). The most convincing
argument I have heard against it is that some applications put visible
folders the user isn't interested in on the desktop.

Currently the only two applications on my system that seem to do this
are Evolution and GNUStep (ie WindowMaker). (side note: damnit!
evolution really shouldn't be cluttering my home directory with stupid
non-user-manipulatable data directories).

-Seth




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