unity-design team mailing list archive

[Ed Lin <edlin280@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 2:13 PM, Remco <remco47@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I think we can ignore feelings of belittlement of adventurous people.
> They would feel belittled by automatic codec install, bash command
> installation suggestions; everything that helps new users.

Oh my, are you serious?
There is a huge difference between a "welcome tour" (remember XP?) and
useful features, automation and intuitive interfaces.

> For every adventurous person we lose, we will gain 100 users who have
> no idea what that bar on the left is, what those icons in the
> top-right are, how you find applications, etc.

If they don't have an idea what to do with those bars and icons we
need to throw out Unity and start from scratch.

> Help is a perfect introduction for new users (English-only though).
> Seriously, take a look at Help. It's awesome.

See, that's the problem. No one does. Neither the "adventurous" nor
the "noobs" who could need it.

> Bringing it up once is not a good idea, I agree. To maximize
> predictability, Help should be brought up on every login, until the
> user clicks on a button "Don't show this next time I log in".

A nag screen, how lovely!

> I know that most technical people feel like they don't need help. I'm
> such a person, and I would go to Google before starting Help. That's
> why it's such a great idea to shove Help into their face the first
> time they use the computer. It may be annoying at first, but curiosity
> will take over and they'll start exploring, for example, the "Tips &
> tricks" section.

No they won't. The screen will nag me and the people who should read
the tips and tricks will nag me too ;)
Even if they did read it,it wouldn't make a difference. Appeal to
authority: I say this based on my experience in "tech support".

Do Android and iOS need a welcome tour? No. And neither should we.