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Software is there to be used by humans, if you put the blame on your users, you have actually failed to design the software correctly. I understand the idealis

Software is there to be used by humans, if you put the blame on your users, you have actually failed to design the software correctly. I understand the idealistic goal that all software be turn-key simple for every user and every use case. But even if we assume it's a plausible, reachable goal, I just can't get on board with blaming the people working towards this for the failure of not being done. We're simply not there yet. We've barely even started. I can simultaneously respect the notion that we should be striving towards it as a goal, while still having practical expectations towards the experts of today that have to interact with systems that are imperfect enough to require expert users. We only have a few warm bubbles where interaction are easy. And there are still expectations of the users, the bar is just lower. Even the most-comfortable of tools makes demands of the users' literacy and ability to figure out how to carry out their particular goals. And we paradoxically put blame on expert users when they use those environments and want to be able, or (more ominously) allowed to do the kinds of things they know are possible but not supported. So I can sympathize that the tools suck. I get livid at the limitations of my tools too. I can share in the frustration of fresh new roadblocks and suddenly having to learn something new. I hate hitting that kind of roadblock. But I have a hard time getting on board assigning blame when I'm a colleague of the people working to solving these problems, and I don't have the answer either.

legulere 10y ago
This isn't about things that might be feasible or not, but about pretty basic things that work in windows and/or macOS without problems for years. I also applaud to people working to improve the linux desktop experience, especially if they do so unpaid. But one has to accept that it's still pretty bad. Just think if someone would want to sell you a product with all the same bugs. Often if you point out the weak parts like the article does, you will get attacked as being the fault. Or the blame gets put to other external parties like Apple. And I really think that this hostility is one of the greatest problems in the linux community. I hope it should be clear that I also don't like putting blame on people, and I think there needs to be some collective taking responsibility by the linux community. If someone has problems the answer to that shouldn't be RTFM and PEBKAC, but questions if those issues can be averted directly in software.
- digi_owl 10y ago
  The only reason it appears to work in those OSs is because the problem spots are papered over by binary only drivers. Linux etc do not have that luxury so the warts out for everyone to show. On top of that they are more often than not working blind, as they have limited to no access to the specs of the underlying hardware they are trying to support.

legulere 10y ago

This isn't about things that might be feasible or not, but about pretty basic things that work in windows and/or macOS without problems for years. I also applaud to people working to improve the linux desktop experience, especially if they do so unpaid. But one has to accept that it's still pretty bad. Just think if someone would want to sell you a product with all the same bugs. Often if you point out the weak parts like the article does, you will get attacked as being the fault. Or the blame gets put to other external parties like Apple. And I really think that this hostility is one of the greatest problems in the linux community. I hope it should be clear that I also don't like putting blame on people, and I think there needs to be some collective taking responsibility by the linux community. If someone has problems the answer to that shouldn't be RTFM and PEBKAC, but questions if those issues can be averted directly in software.

digi_owl 10y ago
The only reason it appears to work in those OSs is because the problem spots are papered over by binary only drivers. Linux etc do not have that luxury so the warts out for everyone to show. On top of that they are more often than not working blind, as they have limited to no access to the specs of the underlying hardware they are trying to support.