unity-design team mailing list archive

[Petko <pditchev@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 02/08/2012 04:40 PM, Mark Shuttleworth wrote:
> I didn't phrase the question well, sorry.
>
> The total number of preferences, settings, and options across the 
> WHOLE ubuntu system should stay constant or decrease. Which two 
> options from anywhere in System Settings would you propose to remove, 
> to fit this new option into the budget?
 I think you're taking the advice to have ever less options way too 
literally . If the existence of an option can be justified then it 
shouldn't be dependent on other options .
> We do test this with users. I've described the results. It's expensive 
> to test, so it's worth simply applying what we have learned in the 
> past, rather than testing everything for every micro-change.
Micro changes can be tested alongside everything - make a list of them , 
make a few combinations of the UI , and you will get feedback on all the 
changes . That's one way to get testing for details (and more so 
investigate how the rules for user psychology actually apply for the 
little things) . That's an idea in general , which I hope can be useful .

> What we have learned in the past is that users who experience the 
> dodge separate from an actual immediate consequence to their own 
> action, are confused by it. That makes the dodge a bad, broken idea. 
> Period. No matter how much you may love it, or I may love it, it's not 
> a good idea to expose to users.
 I still think that in this particular case you're dumming down users 
too much . If someone changes the launcher behaviour , even if it's 
amongst some other configurations (if we're talking about accidents it's 
a whole different topic) , they will have some memory of it . Yes, if 
you present them with a system that's on that mode it can be very 
confusing , but for someone to have changed to it they have to have read 
the caption "dodge windows" , and some kind of connection will emerge . 
And as I said - if you trust they will handle autohide - they'll know 
how to make the launcher appear in dodge .

Well , as I don't see us approaching some consensus (not that I'm giving 
up my point) - I very much hope the option will not be fully removed . 
If you don't put it in the core , it should be still configurable 
through ,say, MyUnity .

P.S.:I'm apparently a moron , forgot to add ayatana again ..

Petko