Havoc Pennington wrote: > We can't rely on Alt+click to solve the offscreen-window problem > because Alt+click is a hidden feature most users won't find. > > If you're noticing a recurring theme: unless most users will find a > solution, it isn't a solution. ;-) WARNING: This post is a thinly veiled excuse to whine about the removeal of FVWM and/or the brokeness of sawfish 2.0 as shipped with Red Hat 8.0. If you don't care about these things, click 'delete' now. (not you Havoc ;-) This helps to illustrate some important usability issues. 1. I see from reading http://www106.pair.com/rhp/free-software-ui.html on your home page that you are strongly in favor or removing preferences from software. You have some good points that I agree with. A good example of this in practice is Gnome 2 panel. A few things that I liked have been removed, but it was worth it just to be able to configure the panel (from one location!) in less than 30 seconds and then forget about it. 2. You are also targeting "most users", something with which I also agree is a good idea. This means fewer people calling me at home for free tech support. At least I hope so.. The problem is when 1 and 2 are combined together: the result is easy to use (for most users) software that is frustrating for skilled users because of its limitations. In the case of window managers, asking experienced users to give up a convenient way to lower windows, or maximize windows along a single axis, or any number of other things, is like asking them to give up cut and paste or tab key completion. If people never use these things they think "what's the fuss?" But once one learns how to use these things (not just play around with them for 5 minutes to see what they do) it is very hard to give them up. People don't use these things because they are weird; they use them because they have learned how to to utilize them to streamline the process of using a computer. You can have my "right-click titlebar to raise/lower a window" when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. :-) So, if something is a major usability problem for a small number of users, is then a minor usability problem overall? Are experienced users more or less important than "new converts" migrating over from Windows? Do you want a bunch of us to become "Use Debian!" fanboys? ;-) There are only two solutions to this that I see: 1. Have defaults in metacity that work well for most users, and configuration options for the rest of us. Really obscure and hard to configure options for all I care, just as long as the end result is a sharp knife and not a rubber mallot. 2. Ship a second, highly configurable window manager THAT'S ACTUALLY SUPPORTED! Putting some priority on getting sawfish fixed so that it can be used without running 'killall rep' on a regular basis would be appreciated. In any case, there's a certain amount of irony in trying to make a general purpose programmable device such as a PC work exactly the same way for all users. TC
