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My new pet theory is that software nowadays is _anti_ power user. In the 90s and 2000s, software came with a bunch of features that most users would want, and

My new pet theory is that software nowadays is _anti_ power user. In the 90s and 2000s, software came with a bunch of features that most users would want, and also a few small but powerful features that a tiny portion of their users ("power" users) really cared about. Almost every software had "power" features of some kind. A config file, command line arguments, that kind of stuff. Nowadays, popular software like Chrome are all too eager to drop "power" features; to make themselves simpler. This avoids confusing general users, at the cost of alienating "power" users. Dropping Ctrl+tab (heck, making shortcuts support a low priority) is one of such features.

floatingatoll 7y ago
Power users often make it a priority to shut off in-product metrics that would represent their needs statistically. Since ‘power users’ as described are probably 0.01% or less of the world’s population, that’s probably less of a big deal for decision making than it sounds, but it’s always interesting to me to watch a subgroup dedicate itself to not being counted and then complain about the outcomes as if they didn’t contribute to their own workflow’s downturn.
- soulofmischief 7y ago
  This is a false dichotomy and a strawman. The only two options are not either participating in often misused, grossly overreaching, non-configurable telemetry programs or disabling them completely. And power users are not dedicating themselves to not helping the product getting better. You've gotten the argument twisted. We love to make software better by offering up information about how we use a product. However, in this climate the rational response is to disable all telemetry until the situation is under control with better legislation. Don't paint this with the wrong colors. Power users are not the irrational group here, and this 0.01% figure which you based your argument on isn't grounded in reality, and therefore neither is your argument.
  - floatingatoll 7y ago
    The assumption by framing that telemetry programs are “often” anything notably weakens your argument. A collection of examples of different entities misusing telemetry over time would strengthen your argument.
    - soulofmischief 7y ago
      I don't need to provide evidence of misuse. The terms of the telemetry programs of the most popular mobile apps and modern destkop apps are far too broad. Just like I don't allow my government more power than it needs, not waiting around for proof of misusing unlimited power, I don't need to wait for a dozen major scandals related to telemetry. But certainly, there are dozens upon dozens of cases of people getting damaged by data leaks from other companies (see Equifax), which is a directly related problem. The overreaching abuse of telemetry and ToS is a known thing, it's public consensus among those who actually read these things, and so the onus of proof is on you to prove otherwise, not me. Otherwise I would have to provide a collection of different examples every time I explain to someone that an object in motion remains in motion until acted upon by an outside force. At some point, you have to accept consensus as fact unless you can prove otherwise.
soulofmischief 7y ago
Chrome and Firefox both don't even allow reconfiguring most hotkeys. That's not anti power user, that's plain anti-user and anti-accessibility.

floatingatoll 7y ago

Power users often make it a priority to shut off in-product metrics that would represent their needs statistically. Since ‘power users’ as described are probably 0.01% or less of the world’s population, that’s probably less of a big deal for decision making than it sounds, but it’s always interesting to me to watch a subgroup dedicate itself to not being counted and then complain about the outcomes as if they didn’t contribute to their own workflow’s downturn.

soulofmischief 7y ago
This is a false dichotomy and a strawman. The only two options are not either participating in often misused, grossly overreaching, non-configurable telemetry programs or disabling them completely. And power users are not dedicating themselves to not helping the product getting better. You've gotten the argument twisted. We love to make software better by offering up information about how we use a product. However, in this climate the rational response is to disable all telemetry until the situation is under control with better legislation. Don't paint this with the wrong colors. Power users are not the irrational group here, and this 0.01% figure which you based your argument on isn't grounded in reality, and therefore neither is your argument.
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  The assumption by framing that telemetry programs are “often” anything notably weakens your argument. A collection of examples of different entities misusing telemetry over time would strengthen your argument.
  - soulofmischief 7y ago
    I don't need to provide evidence of misuse. The terms of the telemetry programs of the most popular mobile apps and modern destkop apps are far too broad. Just like I don't allow my government more power than it needs, not waiting around for proof of misusing unlimited power, I don't need to wait for a dozen major scandals related to telemetry. But certainly, there are dozens upon dozens of cases of people getting damaged by data leaks from other companies (see Equifax), which is a directly related problem. The overreaching abuse of telemetry and ToS is a known thing, it's public consensus among those who actually read these things, and so the onus of proof is on you to prove otherwise, not me. Otherwise I would have to provide a collection of different examples every time I explain to someone that an object in motion remains in motion until acted upon by an outside force. At some point, you have to accept consensus as fact unless you can prove otherwise.

soulofmischief 7y ago

Chrome and Firefox both don't even allow reconfiguring most hotkeys. That's not anti power user, that's plain anti-user and anti-accessibility.