Re: window-in-window MDI

[Derek Simkowiak <dereks kd-dev com>]

> Why offer people the choice to use bad UI?

1) Some people actually like it (even one person on this list admitted
it:)

2) It does no harm (at least, that's the assumption us proponents have
been working under)

3) Most importantly: if a company has a multi-window-UI-based software
product under Windows, and they want to "port" it to Gnome, it becomes
very easy to do.  Alternatively, if this UI does *not* exist under Gnome,
the company will be forced to re-think their UI, thus making the
conversion process non-trivial.

	The same principal applies to people cloning existing win32 apps.
Translating MSFC-based scrollbars, buttons, etc. into their Gtk+/Gnome
counterparts is very easy.  All you need to do is find the right Gtk+
widget and lay it out correctly.  "Mapping" one MDI-based interface to
another is not quite as easy.

	Finally, the end-users who wish to use these ported (or cloned)
applications will want a UI they are familiar with--even if it could be
improved upon.  Saying "here, learn this new UI, it's better (trust us)"
would cause more harm than having one extra MDI option.

--------
	This discussion is boiling down to two schools:

a) it sucks, so leave it out

	...and...

b) it does no harm, but might do (a little bit) good, so put it in


	Anything else (such as my #3 above :) is conjecture and opinion.  
I think the maintainers will simply need to make an exectutive decision.


--Derek