3 ms·

Maybe the arrogance is the worst feature of GNOME approach. They make this studies and constantly repeat how focused are they on usability that when an individu

Maybe the arrogance is the worst feature of GNOME approach. They make this studies and constantly repeat how focused are they on usability that when an individual finds it not usable (not in that words) it's double frustating cause is like GNOME saying: "our average users are happy so you must to be handicaped"

tuna74 2y ago
Yeah, if you want a make a point you can just invent/hallucinate what other people (like Gnome devs devs) say.
stuaxo 2y ago
It's a shame SUN isn't still around, they did actually usability studies on GNOME, it would be great if one of the distros would step up here.
- n3storm 2y ago
  Yes! I am a Sun fan. But GNOME team did say they have done tons of ux studies long after SUN. https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/Studies https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/Studies
  - account42 2y ago
    Have they done "studies" to justify the changes they want to make or have they done real studies to find out what changes they should/should not make?
    - bigfatkitten 2y ago
      The most recent 'study' was conducted by someone largely responsible for the UX as it is now.
jampekka 2y ago
No shame in needing a special UI if you're handicapped.
- n3storm 2y ago
  I totally agree, but if I proudly state my website is AA and you are blind and cannot navigate and read content, wouldn't it feel double embarrasing that if just another site with no AA stamp?
- LtWorf 2y ago
  They claim to be very accessible though.
  - 0rzech 2y ago
    Yes, that's what they claim. But then imagine someone having to use Gnome with just one functional arm for some time. It's going to be a horrible experience due to long mouse travel distances, options buried in hamburger menus or missing from the UI interface completely and keyboard-focused UI in general. Not to mention the eye-straining app switching mechanism in the form of activities overview.
- rollcat 2y ago
  No shame in needing accommodations even if you're not handicapped. Accessibility is about making the UI usable for everyone - that happens to include handicapped people (who often do require specific accommodations, such as reduced animations, TTS, zoom, color filters...), but that also includes power users (who e.g. need to do some specific task often enough, that they might benefit from the UI being scriptable), people who sometimes need to use a computer late at night (automatic dark mode), people who need to stay focused on a specific set of tasks (do not disturb with per-app notification filtering that syncs across devices), etc etc etc. It's this "oh it's for the handicapped" mindset that makes UIs unusable for everyone.
4bpp 2y ago
In my experience the prototypical response is closer to an assertive "this was not made for you, you are part of a tiny minority of users who always have been catered to anyway" - if you were actually "handicapped", making the UI work for you would be a higher priority on political grounds. In fact, it is sometimes entertaining to imagine that somewhere in the depths of the GNOME cult compound, they keep a single individual, who is legally blind, physically incapable of using a keyboard, simultaneously belongs to all demographic groups that are traditionally underrepresented among computer users, and has in fact never used a computer themselves but was shown a few things on an iPhone by their Gen Alpha great grandnephew. All these factors combine to turn this person (affectionately referred to as Mother Gnome by those in the know) into a utility monster of UI design, so that it becomes an absolute moral imperative to design things to appeal to them, at whatever expense it takes.

tuna74 2y ago

Yeah, if you want a make a point you can just invent/hallucinate what other people (like Gnome devs devs) say.

stuaxo 2y ago

It's a shame SUN isn't still around, they did actually usability studies on GNOME, it would be great if one of the distros would step up here.

n3storm 2y ago
Yes! I am a Sun fan. But GNOME team did say they have done tons of ux studies long after SUN. https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/Studies https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/Studies
- account42 2y ago
  Have they done "studies" to justify the changes they want to make or have they done real studies to find out what changes they should/should not make?
  - bigfatkitten 2y ago
    The most recent 'study' was conducted by someone largely responsible for the UX as it is now.

jampekka 2y ago

No shame in needing a special UI if you're handicapped.

n3storm 2y ago
I totally agree, but if I proudly state my website is AA and you are blind and cannot navigate and read content, wouldn't it feel double embarrasing that if just another site with no AA stamp?
LtWorf 2y ago
They claim to be very accessible though.
- 0rzech 2y ago
  Yes, that's what they claim. But then imagine someone having to use Gnome with just one functional arm for some time. It's going to be a horrible experience due to long mouse travel distances, options buried in hamburger menus or missing from the UI interface completely and keyboard-focused UI in general. Not to mention the eye-straining app switching mechanism in the form of activities overview.
rollcat 2y ago
No shame in needing accommodations even if you're not handicapped. Accessibility is about making the UI usable for everyone - that happens to include handicapped people (who often do require specific accommodations, such as reduced animations, TTS, zoom, color filters...), but that also includes power users (who e.g. need to do some specific task often enough, that they might benefit from the UI being scriptable), people who sometimes need to use a computer late at night (automatic dark mode), people who need to stay focused on a specific set of tasks (do not disturb with per-app notification filtering that syncs across devices), etc etc etc. It's this "oh it's for the handicapped" mindset that makes UIs unusable for everyone.

4bpp 2y ago

In my experience the prototypical response is closer to an assertive "this was not made for you, you are part of a tiny minority of users who always have been catered to anyway" - if you were actually "handicapped", making the UI work for you would be a higher priority on political grounds. In fact, it is sometimes entertaining to imagine that somewhere in the depths of the GNOME cult compound, they keep a single individual, who is legally blind, physically incapable of using a keyboard, simultaneously belongs to all demographic groups that are traditionally underrepresented among computer users, and has in fact never used a computer themselves but was shown a few things on an iPhone by their Gen Alpha great grandnephew. All these factors combine to turn this person (affectionately referred to as Mother Gnome by those in the know) into a utility monster of UI design, so that it becomes an absolute moral imperative to design things to appeal to them, at whatever expense it takes.