lubuntu-desktop team mailing list archive

[Jonathan Marsden <jmarsden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 02/11/2011 04:43 PM, Julien Lavergne wrote:

>> Basically, a whole bunch of system-wide 'preference' tools move out
>> of the Preferences menu, and the System Tools Menu is renamed to
>> "System" which has two submenus, Administration (for all these
>> moved system admin tools), and System Tools (for ones that were in
>> the previous System Tools top level menu).

> Thanks Jonathan. I can't see the benefit of the 2 sub-menu 
> "Administration" and "System tools". Why not merged them into 1 ? 1 
> thing I like in the LXDE/Lubuntu menu is that everything is quickly 
> available. What do you think ?

Well, the two sets of packages are tagged differently in the Ubuntu
repositories -- the "Administration" ones are tagged as being in both
"System" and "Preferences" categories, and the "System Tools" are only
"System".  In other words, the tools in "System Tools" are not for
making permanent configuration changes to the system, but for other
system-wide activities -- mostly system monitoring, it seems or
(temporary) process management -- no changes that will survive a reboot.

Those two things are different.  Before, there was a *very* big
distinction made between these two kinds of apps in Lubuntu (one set was
in Preferences, and the other was in System Tools!).  Now, with the two
submenus, they are "closely related" but still clearly not "the same
kind of thing".

So to me, it makes sense as is.  I was looking for a "happy medium"
between "everything vaguely System related goes into one big System
menu", and the old way of "System Preferences" apps not even being
noticeably "System" oriented in the menus, which I think is unfortunate
-- the difference between a per-user change and a per-machine change is
significant.

But I'm not (yet?) a long-term every day Lubuntu or LXDE user.  I am
more used to the Ubuntu GNOME menu structure, which has System ->
Administration -> Synaptic (for example)... so reflecting that in
Lubuntu makes it much easier for me, personally, to find things, than
when Synaptic was in Preferences :)  That doesn't mean my way will suit
everyone, though.

Overall, I am not a UI designer, not at all!  If you want to merge these
two submenus back into one System menu, go for it.  Moving all of then
system-wide configuration and system administration tools out of
Preferences is more important to me than exactly where they end up under
"System" :)

Jonathan