unity-design team mailing list archive

["frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx" <frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 16:53, Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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> frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx wrote on 16/06/11 11:54:
> >
> > in Unity, shouldn't the Messaging menu indicator appear only once a
> > messaging application is up and running? i have neither a mail app nor
> > an instant messaging app running at the moment, still the envelope
> > appears in the panel.
> > While it improves discoverability for the launchers in the menu, it
> > makes discoverability as an indicator of transient events worse.
> >
> > it also clutters the users mental model of how to launch apps and how
> > to use indicators in relation.
>
> The messaging menu contains launchers because it would be weird for it
> not to. The menu needs to label messages by application, and it would be
> frustrating if those labels weren't usable to launch or switch to the
> applications.
>

couldn't one use symbolic icons before each message to indicate it's origin
or protocol?
then the initial need to mix up indicators and launchers within one menu
would disappear if i'm correct.

and i don't think it would be weird to have only message indicators in the
messaging menu, i don't have a "Contact List" button in the Me Menu for
example, and that's sensible in my personal opinion: contact lists and
contact management are something seperate from status.




>
> > i'd suggest put Chat, Mail and Broadcast into the Unity Launcher and
> > add a confirmation dialog to the removal option (Keep In Launcher).
> > So when somebody unticks "Keep In Launcher", she is asked to confirm
> > that.
> >...
>
> What would a confirmation dialog have to do with this issue?
>

this observation was meant to emphasize the importance of having that
"button", prism place or lense where i can find it easily.
In a "clean" messaging menu, where i see only entries that are actual
conversations or messages, there would be no place for application
launchers, the way i was reasoning.. which makes it all the more important
to make these launchers kinda sticky on the left hand side in the Unity
"dock" or as easily accessible lenses, thereby protecting the novice user
from accidentally removing them and never finding them again.

How to implement that, of course, is another question, and a
confirm-before-remove solution is an option but it's absolutely not elegant,
as i find at second thought.