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I am so sick of this "shit on your power users" mentality. We built these empires. But then we get kicked out because stupid people are stupid. Do we elevate

by tomc1985 6y ago

I am so sick of this "shit on your power users" mentality. We built these empires. But then we get kicked out because stupid people are stupid. Do we elevate these folks to power user status? No. Instead we stoop to their level, all in service of making more money. Sick of watching tech (and people) functioning at a tiny fraction of their potential. We could be living in a beautiful world where people bend tech to their will, and not the other way around

andybak 6y ago
Whilst I have some sympathy with your stance I feel some of the nuance and complexity might be being lost.
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  It is, but not on this side. First point of complexity that's always being lost: power users aren't born, they're made - made from repeated exposure. First point of nuance being lost: being nice to power users means having features available and discoverable; it doesn't mean you have to clutter your pretty, simple, polished UX with it (and so decide to not do the features in fear of design impact). Why it matters? Because operating a lot of hot, hip software - like Trello - ends up being a dayjob for many people. If you're sitting 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for years, using mostly a single piece of software, you're in a perfect position to become power user of that product, entirely effortlessly. If that software is "pandering to power users", then your work speed, quality and reliability will keep going up over time, as you get more proficient and efficient at using the tool. Whether you'll use saved time to rest, to slack off, or to get more work done - that's up to you, but you have a choice, and your employer saves money (whether through increased efficiency or reduced risk of employee burnout). Meanwhile, if the software embraces the "simple use only" principle, you'll just be wasting your life in front of a glorified Fisher-Price toy. "Power user friendly" really means "leaving space for users to grow".
cameronfraser 6y ago
Power users didn't build any empires, get over yourself. It's the users you call stupid who do. Also a piece of software and its ecosystem is hardly an "empire"
ZephyrBlu 6y ago
It's not about shitting on your power users, it's about making your software usable for everyone. "stupid people" is also a strawman. There are plenty of smart people out there who just want shit to work. They don't want to fiddle with everything like power users do. Medical/healthcare professionals are a good example of this.

andybak 6y ago

Whilst I have some sympathy with your stance I feel some of the nuance and complexity might be being lost.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
It is, but not on this side. First point of complexity that's always being lost: power users aren't born, they're made - made from repeated exposure. First point of nuance being lost: being nice to power users means having features available and discoverable; it doesn't mean you have to clutter your pretty, simple, polished UX with it (and so decide to not do the features in fear of design impact). Why it matters? Because operating a lot of hot, hip software - like Trello - ends up being a dayjob for many people. If you're sitting 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for years, using mostly a single piece of software, you're in a perfect position to become power user of that product, entirely effortlessly. If that software is "pandering to power users", then your work speed, quality and reliability will keep going up over time, as you get more proficient and efficient at using the tool. Whether you'll use saved time to rest, to slack off, or to get more work done - that's up to you, but you have a choice, and your employer saves money (whether through increased efficiency or reduced risk of employee burnout). Meanwhile, if the software embraces the "simple use only" principle, you'll just be wasting your life in front of a glorified Fisher-Price toy. "Power user friendly" really means "leaving space for users to grow".

cameronfraser 6y ago

Power users didn't build any empires, get over yourself. It's the users you call stupid who do. Also a piece of software and its ecosystem is hardly an "empire"

ZephyrBlu 6y ago

It's not about shitting on your power users, it's about making your software usable for everyone. "stupid people" is also a strawman. There are plenty of smart people out there who just want shit to work. They don't want to fiddle with everything like power users do. Medical/healthcare professionals are a good example of this.