Re: [Usability] I just want say: thanks

[Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>]

[CC's removed]

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005, dino wrote:

> Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:17:00 +0100
> From: dino <dino ankaria de>
> To: usability gnome org
> Cc: torvalds osdl org, jdub perkypants org
> Subject: [Usability] I just want say: thanks
>
> Hey,
>
> first: sorry for off topic but i think its the (only) right place for.
> Like many others i read the thread Linus took part in. Though in some
> points he could be right - finally he doesn't!
> Gnome is nice the way it is!

As Jeff said it is tough to please everyone.  I do believe Gnome pleases
more people now than it used to but it appeals to quite different people
than Gnome 1.4 did.  There is probably more which could be done to give
advanced users the flexibility they want without overcomplicating things
for everyone else.  It is a difficult balance to get right but we cannot
please everyone with the defaults so some flexibility will always be
needed.

> He expresses himself in a way that isn't the right (e.g. "interface nazis").

I am concerned that such casual use of the term Nazi trivialises the
Holocaust and I would have preffered more creative insults.  I dont think
anyone was offended but I was disappionted Linus thinks we have a low
opinion of the intelligence of our users.

More importantly as others have said "you catch more flies with honey than
vinegar", flattery will get you everyone but harsh comments are unlikely
to have the outcome you really want or get people enthusiastic about
making changes you suggest.

> I just want to say:
> I love gnome and just want to say thanks.

You are welcome.

> oh,.. and:
> Please, just protect people from using KDE! ;)

There is no need for that at all. :(

Your post was so nice and you were doing so well...
defeat from the jaws of victory!

Maybe my view is things is rose tinted but as far as I can tell the KDE
and Gnome developers get alone quite well and have a lot of respect for
each others work but different interests and various ideas on what
approach is best for themselves and their users yet still manage to
collaborate on various important standards and infrastructural work (think
freedesktop.org).  There are plenty of users who happily mix and match
applications from both projects and in future integration can only get
better and the choice of toolkits will increasingly be an issue users do
not need to worry about, and the can stop worry about which toolkit and
pick the best application for the particular task they are interested in.
Having good applications is what the users really care about, in my not so
humble opinion.

Let's all play friendly now.  No need for KDE and Gnome to fight when
there are bigger fish to fry.

Sincerely

Alan Horkan

Abiword http://www.abisource.com
Dia http://gnome.org/projects/dia/
Open Clip Art http://OpenClipArt.org
KOffice http://www.koffice.org

Alan's Diary http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/