Re: [Usability] new feature request...

["Iain *" <iaingnome gmail com>]

On 6/29/07, Alberto Segura <murrayf07 yahoo es> wrote:
>     Why do you think its a stupid idea "listillo"?  I'm free to post my
> proposals, if you don't agree or answer something similar don't publish
> it or better give your reasons...

Of course you are free to post your ideas, no-one is stopping you.
You asked what we thought, I told you what I thought. Had I understood
that "What do you think?" actually meant "Sycophantically agree with
me" I would not have replied (a tip for the future perhaps?).

But, as you have now asked, here is why I think it is a stupid idea.
GNOME is not original. GNOME looks and acts like every other computer
desktop since the dawn of time (circa 1980). This is a good thing.
Originality is overated (in this domain, underrated in others). Cars
look pretty much the same as every other car ever since Henry Ford
rolled the first Model T out of Detroit in 1909 (*). Interchangable
dashboard colours don't make a car more original. There's a reason why
the more original designed cars (concept cars) never make it into
production...no-one would want them.

Anyway, enough of bad analogies.
The Amiga's workbench had a similar ability (supplied by a 3rd party
utility) back in sometime around 1992, so your idea isn't even
particularly original either. You'll notice that nobody took this
design idea anywhere past 1992. I suspect there's a reason for that
too.

And we've not even got onto how you would implement this feature, how
you'd make sure the text was readable on all backgrounds/colours, the
extra work the panel guys would have to deal with implementing,
debugging and supporting a feature that would rarely be used and I
have no idea how you'd begin to make a sane UI for it. Feel free to
prove me wrong, but don't get your hopes up of it ever being used or
making the world a better place.

I'm not saying this to discourage you from having ideas, but GNOME
lacks manpower already and sometimes you need to understand that not
every idea is a winner. I'm a believer in tough love, not leading you
on with lies like "Oh yes, thats a good idea" making you spend time on
it and then it being quietly pushed to the wayside. Thats just a waste
of everyone's time.

And you're right, I wouldn't use it, but then, I think the panel menu
is a stupid idea and don't use it either.

iain

(*) Yes, I know that wasn't the first car...