On 03/13/2013 12:26 AM, Ralf Corsepius wrote: >> - (Nobody explicitly stated this, but) Displaying information geared >> towards power users by default is intimidating / confusing to >> less-knowledgeable users." > I'd call this to be an urban legend. A boot menu is self-explanatory, > even to new-comers. > > It may baffle them when they see it for the first time, but will very > soon get used to it. No, a boot menu is not self-explanatory, and no, this is not an 'urban legend.' How do you even come up with associating the term 'urban legend' to statement saying that a complex screen is confusing to casual computer users? That's like calling Fitts' Law an 'old wives' tale!' I have taught multiple classes of teenage and pre-teen students using Fedora Live USB keys. This necessarily involves having to guide them through using syslinux (which is very similar in appearance to grub) to boot their system, I can say from actual experience that: 1) The boot menu was not self-explanatory, and the students had a lot of questions about what stuff on the screen meant. 2) After the students got used to it, it really annoyed them because it delayed their bootup and they had to hit enter to get through it. 3) Occasionally they would see the screen, panic, forget the correct menu entry to select (the first one) and would have to ask for help even a few weeks into the program. I do hope they were able to continue to use the keys after the classes were over and they were allowed to take them home, but if they got confused I don't even know if asking their parents would have helped. If the general principle of 'specialized technical crap confuses people who don't understand it' is a mystical urban legend to you, you might want to try teaching a class to less-experienced computer users or watching usability test videos. Or maybe try volunteering at a community technical helpdesk. Your opinion will change pretty quickly. ~m -- devel mailing list devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
