Re: RE : [Usability]Insert/overwrite, how should i do a usability study?

[John Levon <levon movementarian org>]

On Mon, Jan 20, 2003 at 10:45:03PM +0100, Joaquin Cuenca Abela wrote:

> > > The original user was hopeless.  If you don't know
> > > that you're in insert mode, even when you realize that
> > > the cursor is eating your letters, you're lost.
> > 
> > So, "common sense" says that users have an innate knowledge 
> > of what "insert mode" is, is that it ?
> 
> You're taking my words out of context.  I said that usability starts
> with common sense.  Sometimes (most of the time) you don't need large
> users groups nor expensive material to do something usable, you just
> need common sense.  I was not insulting nor being despective with users
> that don't know what the insert mode is.

OK, accepted. You should know my response was almost a strawman, to make
a point.

> *BUT* AbiWord is not a e-learning tool.  It not our job to explain the
> user what the "Return" key means, nor how to shutdown a computer, nor
> what "Insert" is used for.  We're not a do-all-be-all tool.  We can not

This is certainly true. Perhaps I misread the tone of your response.
Alan certainly has a valid problem to address, and it sounded like you
wer denying there was an issue at all.

> If the user doesn't know what the different keys in its keyboard means,
> he has several choices:
> 
> 1) try it and see
> 2) ask to anybody
> 3) rtfm
> 
> Probably in that order...

It's more likely to have 1) and 2) swapped, and 3) not present at all.

Regarding some more concrete suggestions, other than the cursor changes,
have you paid thought to :

o visually highlighting INS/OVR on mode change
o converting the "INS/OVR" into English
o a tooltip for INS/OVR
o status message in the status bar on changing mode

The latter could say e.g. "Over-write mode. Press Insert to return to
insert mode" 

All of these suggestions have some problems, but perhaps food for
thought.

> P.S.: [Absolutely off-topic] oprofile rocks, but is there any remote
> chance to get call graphs in the output?

Yes, but it would need some work. If you want to know more, don't
hesitate to email, but I'll refrain from bothering usability@ with it :)

regards
john

-- 
"Anyone who quotes Rusty in their sig is an idiot."
	- me