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>I feel like older user interfaces treated me like an adult. They did, because usually only adults used PCs. Now kids through elders use PCs and there's nothi

>I feel like older user interfaces treated me like an adult. They did, because usually only adults used PCs. Now kids through elders use PCs and there's nothing wrong making the UX more friendly to people unaccustomed to working in tech. It's in your head because I think you're missing the roles PCs now play for everyone in society.

jplayer01 8y ago
It seems to me then that a big problem is designing interfaces to the lowest common denominator, then removing options for advanced users. This is a problem I see even (especially?) on Linux, which gives you limited GUI control and if you want to do anything beyond the most basic changes, expects you to know how to configure everything on the command-line.
- wwright 8y ago
  A lot of it, I think, isn’t trying to design for the lowest common denominator, but trying to find abstractions that fit problems more accurately. When that works well, you end up with much higher accessibility and fewer errors. As with all abstractions, though, they tend to leak. Software design tries to minimize those leaks, but they have to prioritize which ones to fix. Advanced users like you or me don’t need those abstractions nearly as much, so we’re not prioritized. Which is probably fine. We end up seeing the leaks in the abstractions a lot more because of it, though.
  - ColanR 8y ago
    > As with all abstractions, though, they tend to leak. That's part of the problem, though, and not something that should be brushed aside. The old designs were good partly because they operated one abstraction level lower, where the leaks were inherently much smaller.
    - TuringTest 8y ago
      Yes, but that lower abstraction level also meant that much less people was able to use those systems.
ZoomZoomZoom 8y ago
I wasn't exactly an adult in Win95/98 era and I absolutely loved that computers didn't care one bit and spoke to me indiscriminately. It did not feel like some game and it was great.
pseudalopex 8y ago
In 1998, 42% of US households had a computer. Children used them more than their parents did.[1] Many people without computers at home used them at work, school, or libraries. There's nothing wrong with making error messages less intimidating. There is something wrong with not giving any information about the problem or not even displaying an error message. [1] https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/issuebrf/sib00314.htm https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/issuebrf/sib00314.htm
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

jplayer01 8y ago

It seems to me then that a big problem is designing interfaces to the lowest common denominator, then removing options for advanced users. This is a problem I see even (especially?) on Linux, which gives you limited GUI control and if you want to do anything beyond the most basic changes, expects you to know how to configure everything on the command-line.

wwright 8y ago
A lot of it, I think, isn’t trying to design for the lowest common denominator, but trying to find abstractions that fit problems more accurately. When that works well, you end up with much higher accessibility and fewer errors. As with all abstractions, though, they tend to leak. Software design tries to minimize those leaks, but they have to prioritize which ones to fix. Advanced users like you or me don’t need those abstractions nearly as much, so we’re not prioritized. Which is probably fine. We end up seeing the leaks in the abstractions a lot more because of it, though.
- ColanR 8y ago
  > As with all abstractions, though, they tend to leak. That's part of the problem, though, and not something that should be brushed aside. The old designs were good partly because they operated one abstraction level lower, where the leaks were inherently much smaller.
  - TuringTest 8y ago
    Yes, but that lower abstraction level also meant that much less people was able to use those systems.

ZoomZoomZoom 8y ago

I wasn't exactly an adult in Win95/98 era and I absolutely loved that computers didn't care one bit and spoke to me indiscriminately. It did not feel like some game and it was great.

pseudalopex 8y ago

In 1998, 42% of US households had a computer. Children used them more than their parents did.[1] Many people without computers at home used them at work, school, or libraries. There's nothing wrong with making error messages less intimidating. There is something wrong with not giving any information about the problem or not even displaying an error message. [1] https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/issuebrf/sib00314.htm https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/issuebrf/sib00314.htm

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]