If I might put my 2 cents...<br><br>I think the key reason of the problem could be rephrased into:<br><b>Its is being done inside out</b><br><br>The problem is that user has FIRST select bias, LATER put the settings in - like click plus sign and add artist bias, then type in artist name, then set the proportion then repeat all again for each other bias. Its just too much (in most cases) clicks required to even start doing it :(<br>
<br>But if it would be possible to FIRST have search box looking for any meta filed with AUTO COMPLETION. Once user finds the keyword, like U2, it gets dead easy <u>for Amarok to know</u>, that U2 is an artist. So by simply typing in U2 and clicking enter new bias of <i>Match artist name: U2</i> can be created.<br>
<br>Once done, put focus to search field again, so <u>U2 <enter> sting <enter> Gorillaz <enter></u> creates the playlist of U2, Sting and Gorillaz. Tick the "and similar" check box and playlist gets filled with by track of U2, Sting, Gorillaz and similar to the artists.<br>
<br><b>The end.</b><br><br>One more thing. Biases suppose to be grouped. I can't imagine any reason why user could want to have 3 blocks for each artist, instead of one block for all of them. <br>The issue could be level of proportion. But 90% of cases it is no issue. Just do <br>
SELECT * FROM `music` WHERE `artist` IN (u2, sting, gorillaz) ORDER BY rand LIMIT 15<br><br>For the remaining 10% uses, a something like its done in some players with volume control - an 22x22 icon on the right to call horizontal slider to set it up. <br>
Or even simpler way - just add a star. Once artist is stared in the bias, it forces the stared artist to appear much more fraudulently. Even 10 year old could do that. <br><br><br>As I wrote about artists only, same way can be used for almost any other meta field.<br>
<br>If there are any biases that cant be done in simple search > do way, they can be presented in the same way as it is now, just put them on the bottom of the panel. This way they wouldn't bother daily users, yet leaving exactly same functionality for power users.<br>
<br><br>P.S. what about range slider <a href="http://jqueryui.com/demos/slider/#range">http://jqueryui.com/demos/slider/#range</a> to get used for range selection like rating? (both edit filer and biases)<br><br>