Re: [Fwd: Nautilus]

[Tomasz Janowitz <logan77 o2 pl>]

Bruce-Robert Pocock wrote:
>>"So, this gets to the heart of the question.  In spatial mode this
>>situation can only occur if the user commonly uses lots of directories, or
>>deeply nested ones.
>>Is this the most common scenario for our target user?"
>>
>>   Designing a behaviour of file manager assuming that it won't manage many
>>files/folders and deeply nested ones (which is what the filesystem was
>>designed for) isn't the best approach IMHO.
>>
>>"I think it is not.  I observe people saving files to the default save
>>location for the application (web browsers, office tools, etc).  And
>>leaving them there."
>>
>>   I don't know one such person. Maybe it's just friends I've got are such
>>a pedantic puritans. Or maybe organizing files in deeply nested trees is
>>normal way of dealing with lot's of files. I've got over 3 thousand mp3's.
>>Putting them in one location is a joke. Hundreds of documents, books and
>>other stuff has to be managed with directories. It helps, not stands in the
>>way.
> 
> With all due respect, then, you know "advanced" users. 
I consider them computer illiterates. They know only some basic stuff, but
they work on their computers, so managing files is obvious task for them.
In order to make sth. done you have to clean sth. first. First you build a
house than move in. Not the other way round.

The vast, vast
> majority of "new" users save to "Documents," "Home," or "Desktop." 
New users, as new to unix world or new to computers ?


On
> one Windows-to-Linux migration I worked on, we found 30-odd users who
> had never saved a file to any location other than Desktop.
> 
30 users out of how many ?


> Users who *do* work with large hierarchies are presumably computer-savvy
> enough to find the "browse mode" setting by e.g. right-clicking on a
> folder. It's discoverable in a dozen ways...
Everyone on unix has large hierarchy of files when you take into
consideration '/'. And no, they are not computer-savvy, although work on
them pretty much (XXI first century, hello..?). The first time I saw
spatial mode there was no option in preferencies to disable. End how should
they know which mode is browser and which is spatial, since no one ever
explained this to them and they presumably know the browser mode from
explorer experience ? Most people who use spatial are aware of what is
browser mode. From those who use browser mode only small percentage knows
what the browser/spatial modes are (not entirely true, since some time ago
spatial went default and everyone had to learn).

> 
> Speaking as a fairly technosavvy user, for routine office-type tasks
> (WP, spreadsheet, web browser, eMail), I myself tend to "dump" all new
> documents to "~/Documents" or "~/Desktop" when I'm working on a project
> and then go back later and "file them away," just as I might when
> working on real-world pasteboard projects...
> 
You consider that people are lazy enough not to orginize themselves a
folder hierarchy and yet willing to manage all the window sizes and
positioning (even background). This is some inconsistency.

> I think the choice of the default goes like this: Which view is least
> confusing to a user who is "potentially naive," or as your local L.U.G.
> junkie would say, "a techno-weenie." Spatial mode is arguably -- and, in
> my experience, at least -- proved to be less confusing. Assigning
> individual background colours to folders (black for trash, blue for
> Documents, &c.) and setting their on-screen positions (lower-right for
> trash, near the trash applet on my panel, the Documents folder over the
> Documents folder icon) is also useful.
Yes....but aren't you computer-savvy? From what I see only the
professionals argue that it's the better way, and say it's better way for
ordinary people, but why don't I hear anything positive about spatial mode
from them than ?

Regards.