3 ms·

Is anyone else put off by infinitely customizable things? I used to love this stuff when I was a kid but now I just want things to work well out of the box.

speedgoose 4y ago
Yes, I just want good defaults.
nucleardog 4y ago
Not only put off by, but I try and actively avoid them these days. I know myself too well. If I put the options and flexibility in front of me, I _will_ make use of them. Every time I hit something that's broken, doesn't work how I'd prefer, or is even moderately annoying... down the rabbit hole. As to hopefully not to kick off a flamewar, I'll just say up front I'm wrong, an idiot, and I feel very bad about myself as I should-- But that was what finally got me onto an iPhone after over a decade on Android. I started with the ADP1 with all the hope and promise that an open platform brings. I was writing and replacing software on my phone, putting together shell scripts integrated with other tooling to automate things, etc, etc. At some point life was just too damn busy and I stepped back and looked at all the things I want to do, and what would create the most value in my life... and messing with my phone wasn't anywhere near the top of my list. I wanted things to just work well out of the box and my choices in that matter to be basically inconsequential (if I can replace the dialer, now I need to spend brain space optimizing my dialer experience). So I went and grabbed a phone where stuff purportedly "just works", does so in a way where I really don't get a say (I just have to learn to live with it--and I have), and more importantly when it doesn't work... there's fuck all I can do about it anyway. When it doesn't work I don't stress about it and it doesn't take up any of my time because it's not something I could fix even if I wanted to.
- Gigachad 4y ago
  When all the configuration options are gone, it’s interesting how many of these “critical” tweaks become unimportant. At the end of the day it doesn’t actually matter what side of the window the close/minimise buttons are. You just trust Apple/whoever to do it right and deal with whatever you get.
Gigachad 4y ago
This is most people, which is why things like Gnome desktop are the default. They just work out of the box. Kids and unemployed people enjoy tinkering with arch Linux and i3 but the average person wants it to just work and be simple.
eviks 4y ago
The opposite, and customization doesn't prevent things from "working well", but it does allow you to reach "working great"

speedgoose 4y ago

Yes, I just want good defaults.

nucleardog 4y ago

Not only put off by, but I try and actively avoid them these days. I know myself too well. If I put the options and flexibility in front of me, I _will_ make use of them. Every time I hit something that's broken, doesn't work how I'd prefer, or is even moderately annoying... down the rabbit hole. As to hopefully not to kick off a flamewar, I'll just say up front I'm wrong, an idiot, and I feel very bad about myself as I should-- But that was what finally got me onto an iPhone after over a decade on Android. I started with the ADP1 with all the hope and promise that an open platform brings. I was writing and replacing software on my phone, putting together shell scripts integrated with other tooling to automate things, etc, etc. At some point life was just too damn busy and I stepped back and looked at all the things I want to do, and what would create the most value in my life... and messing with my phone wasn't anywhere near the top of my list. I wanted things to just work well out of the box and my choices in that matter to be basically inconsequential (if I can replace the dialer, now I need to spend brain space optimizing my dialer experience). So I went and grabbed a phone where stuff purportedly "just works", does so in a way where I really don't get a say (I just have to learn to live with it--and I have), and more importantly when it doesn't work... there's fuck all I can do about it anyway. When it doesn't work I don't stress about it and it doesn't take up any of my time because it's not something I could fix even if I wanted to.

Gigachad 4y ago
When all the configuration options are gone, it’s interesting how many of these “critical” tweaks become unimportant. At the end of the day it doesn’t actually matter what side of the window the close/minimise buttons are. You just trust Apple/whoever to do it right and deal with whatever you get.

Gigachad 4y ago

This is most people, which is why things like Gnome desktop are the default. They just work out of the box. Kids and unemployed people enjoy tinkering with arch Linux and i3 but the average person wants it to just work and be simple.

eviks 4y ago

The opposite, and customization doesn't prevent things from "working well", but it does allow you to reach "working great"