[Digikam-users] Users manual?

[Bartek Pietrasiak]

I'll say it again: This looks like a great program. I'm eager to use it.
> But not if I have figure it out by trial and error or spend hours
> guessing where I might find instructions which the program interface
> plainly says exists. In my initial contact with it, it took two hours to
> find any real documentation. It should have taken two seconds: Help >
> User Manual.
>

Please type "digikam documentation"  in google.


> A confession: My complaint has a purpose - I want the right people to
> get it that naive users don't bear up well under such insults. It
> doesn't matter how many unpaid hours you put into a project. Good
> intentions don't count. Just usability. Sorry if that upsets anyone, but
> it's just the fact of the matter.
>


>
> If you want the program to be used only by experts, geeks, and folks
> looking for a nifty way to fill up hours of empty time, hide the
> documentation. Or put the program out and let others (like packagers)
> worry about whether the documentation goes along with the binary or not.
> You're just doing it for the love, right? Well, that must be self love,
> 'cause frustration on the user end of things breeds no love.


Do you know what the exposure,  raw file, focal lenght mens? Then you are a
geek. If you do not, or you have just bought a computer (I have such a
filling, since you spent 2 hours on searching docs ;), digikam
contributors won't help you at each step until you become digikam master and
pro photographer. Sorry. You have search for the info before asking because
people tend not to answer question which has already been answered.

So, if anyone felt my pissed-offness, good. That was my purpose. Wish
> you'd been in the room a couple of days ago, when I was having the
> experience. You'd really have felt it then. This program immediately
> looks like a lot of intelligence went into it. And you're not going to
> make it easy for me to learn what all that technobabble means and does?
> Really? You don't care???
>
> Believe me, if *I* have trouble, many more who know less than I do will
> simply walk away in disgust. I'd hate to see that happen with something
> as fine as Linux in general the DigiKam in general. What a tragedy.
>
> Obviously this is NOT just a Linux problem. Designing good user
> interfaces, in the  most general sense of the term, is really hard,
> which is why we see so few of them, and why we have to keep listening to
> users (that would be me) and thinking about the problem. That's why I
> FILL my own profession website with all manner of documentation for what
> I do (which helps, but does not solve the problem, in truth).
>
and: "Observing and responding to user interactions with
the interface IS the answer."

Do you work in some sales department? ;) I believe that people become aware
what these guys do  ;) and do not use highly advertised products. Good
product will be used.

>
> It's not a computer problem, it's a human cultural problem, and most
> programmers simply aren't up to it, which is why there needs to be a
> handoff to someone else.
>
> As it is, most people in my profession - highly educated folks, all of
> them - can barely use computers, and very few programs ON those
> computers, at that. Sigh. We have much work to do.
>

It is not my and digikam contributors problem that you and you higly
educated folks (geeks ;P) do not get well with computer geeks, dog geeks,
cat geeks, basketball geeks, boxing geeks (please do not complain in a
boxing gym that you cannot find a good book about how to hit with good right
hook ....;) and any other ;) Put off the book and move you ass from the
couch. Rumour has it, that there is some life out there. ;)

I believe that group is for people who want to quickly get answer on
unanswered question and not a good please for idealogical fights. The are
some forums, we can have a char there ;)

Btw, Gilles got angry because of the "strong suggestion" in capitals which
have some meaning, I don't know whether you had realized. In corporation
world, If you want to have a fight with somebody (or rather begin a war ;),
you just need to strongly suggest somebody in capitals and put some
big-heads in CC.

But indeed, you are right in some things ;)
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