Re: [Usability]Re: A "cheat" to full window manager integration

[Daniel Borgmann <daniel liebesgedichte net>]

On Sun, 2002-07-21 at 23:43, Christopher Warner wrote:
> >2) It may not be desirable. It is relatively easy to
> >design a window manager theme that looks exciting and
> >visually strange but doesn't interfere with one's
> >work. It is far more difficult to design a GTK+ theme
> >that is both striking and interesting, but not hard on
> >the eyes. Users wishing to strike a balance may simply
> > use a funky window border theme with a less exciting,
> >but more manageable GTK+ theme. IMHO, this is a more
> >compelling argument against a combined theme.
> >
> >  
> >
> You're talking about a poorly designed theme, I'm not graphically 
> skilled so i wouldn't be making themes. Someone who makes a theme like 
> the above probably shouldn't be making themes for mass consumption 
> either. I'm sure theme designers will take care of themes if they can do 
> ONE theme instead of 3 smaller different themes. You have 
> nautilus/wm/gtk themes. If you wrap them all together in a bunch it'd be 
> alot easier to deal with, it'd also allow for more unifying themes. What 
> you say above doesn't provide any technical reasons as to why combining 
> themes might be bad except for the fact that some theme designer made a 
> poor choice.

Are you aware that many or most decent Gtk themes are engines and
require coding? While Metacity themes are really just a simple XML file
and some images perhaps. If this gets bundled, you can't create themes
anymore without a _lot_ of knowledge, probably even programming
knowledge. And add to this, that window manager and widget themes really
have nothing in common. For example I created a Metacity theme (out of
personal interest because I didn't like the other ones) that goes well
with the default Raleigh, so I wouldn't see a reason to create a new Gtk
style for it, even if I would know how to do it.
So it would be a HUGE amount of work (for the preference coders _and_
the theme creators) for just a tiny, almost non existant gain (I would
even say the ability to combine every window manager theme with every
widget theme is an advantage, not a disadvantage).