[kopete-bugs] [Bug 200887] New: Usability problem: "Autoconnect" feature is hard to find

[Claus Appel]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=200887

           Summary: Usability problem: "Autoconnect" feature is hard to
                    find
           Product: kopete
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: unspecified
        OS/Version: Linux
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: normal
          Priority: NOR
         Component: general
        AssignedTo: kopete-bugs at kde.org
        ReportedBy: spectrumdt at gmail.com


Version:           0.70.4 (using 4.2.4 (KDE 4.2.4), 4.2.4-2.fc11 Fedora)
Compiler:          gcc
OS:                Linux (i686) release 2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i586

In order to get Kopete to automatically connect when the program is started,
you have to go to Configure -> Behavior and set "Initial status" to "online". 

It took me several months as a Kopete user before I found out that this option
existed. I had long been unhappy that Kopete did not autoconnect, and I had
looked through the "Configure" menu many times in search of an autoconnect
option. In the end I had given up, thinking that Kopete was probably just
bugged and couldn't figure out how to autoconnect. Finally, after months, I
discovered that the "initial status" field had (presumably) been there in front
of my eyes all along. 

This is bad user interface design. The setting is very easy to overlook. I
don't know how to solve the problem, but here are some thoughts. 

1. "Initial status" should be set to "online" by default when Kopete is
installed. There might exist people who do not want Kopete to autoconnect, but
I am certain they are a minority. Most people will want autoconnect enabled. 

2. The name "initial status" is not intuitive. In my head I imagined an option
that said "Autoconnect on startup? (yes/no)" or something like that. 

3. The name is not consistent with the rest of the interface. Under Configure
-> Accounts -> Modify account, there is a field called "exclude from connect
all". To my mind, this suggests that the autoconnect setting should have a name
like "connect all on startup". 

4. Why is "initial status" a drop-down menu? A "radio button" menu would make
more sense IMO. It would also take up more space and thus be easier for the
user to notice.

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