[Panel-devel] Left Handed

[Gerry Gavigan]

On Monday 05 September 2005 20:30, you wrote:
> Sorry, I can't follow you here. First, I do hold the mouse in my left hand
> most of the time and the K-Menu is on the left. Yet it doesn't feel any
> better if I move it to the right. But that's just me.
> But besides that - moving the mouse towards the K-Menu is not all you do.
> You have to move it back to your application eventually. You can't really
> avoid movement in one direction.

I'm getting stuck for vocabulary here. If the K were on the right the
movements of my hand/wrist/elbow would be open and away from my body.  With
the K on the left, is drawn into my body, typically with my elbow against my
chest cavity.  No it's not fatal but it's less comfortable.

> > not so, it's a convention based on right handedness - it's easier to
> > explain on a graphics tablet - see bugs.kde.org circa 2002 - moreover I
> > have to adopt a totally different body position - the inward sweep (CW
> > for you CCW for me) is the natural and easier movement
>
> Are you talking about handwriting on paper here? Where does the GUI force
> you to adopt different body positions? You can't smear the ink when using a
> mouse. You move it to a target position - sometimes to the left, sometimes
> to the right - and click.
>
> The only difference I see is that the mouse crashes more often into the
> left screen border, because of the left alignment of most GUI elements. So
> you have to lift the mouse to reposition it towards the right more often
> than to the left. Is it easier for you to lift the mouse and move it left
> instead? Or is it anything else?

you are correct and of course it doesn't for right handers :)

> > > I can't think of a reason why left handed people
> > > should have a different idea of the order of the OK/Cancel button. You
> > > have to press either one in no particular order and you can do it with
> > > the left hand if you prefer.
> >
> > apologies, I think this one arose because I didn't explain myself very
> > well in the first place - my post to be moderated covers this - I was
> > trying to refer to the close tabs/open tabs buttons on konqueror rather
> > than OK/Cancel
>
> This doesn't make it any more clear for me. Close Tab is right, New Tab is
> left. Why would left-handed people prefer "New Tab" on the right? If you'd
> be the only man on earth, then how would you decide which buttons belongs
> where?

left handers work/think right to left  - moving ones hand away from the body
rather than toward it - as I mentioned in my original post - the usability of
KDE has improved so much that my concentration lapses and I think "normally"
and close a tab by mistake rather than open it.

among the conversations on the left handed website this crops up time and
 time again as an issue (cheek kissing, stacking the dishwasher, folding
 sheets, etc.)

From a safety perspective we are more likely to reach for the hot water tap
(faucet?) when not thinking, as in the UK at least that's the one on the left

> I did in no way question the use of left handed (or neutral) devices. We
> have to hold it with your preferred hand after all. That's why there are
> left handed or symmetrical mice and that's why I own one.

again I apologise for any adverse implication arising - I was just searching
for examples.  I agree that one can train oneself - except that IRL we revert
to type under stress.

It's just a thought I had that because of the development model it might be
possible to consider a LH GUI

> But beyond that I don't see further problems with the GUI. I'm not saying
> they don't exist, I just don't see them. This topic isn't discussed on the
> website you mentioned, or is it?

The majority of the world still doesn't understand choice in software and so
they're all putting up with stuff and that the gui is right-handed is
probably well down the list - they have got a very nearly left-handed
keyboard - keypad on left

> So far I know that you would like to swap the "new tab" and "close tab"
> buttons. But that's not all for sure. What about back and forward? Or zoom
> in/zoom out?

I'm thinking about that - I would be pleased to try and organise the research
(for example perhaps this left-handed website might be prepared to raise the
idea as a topic)

However I can't do the coding - so if I cannot garner interest I'm just
 boring you all with my posts.

It also might be excessively difficult to achieve as an option, again I have
no idea

> I guess you've tried the --reverse option in the meantime and I'm quite
> sure that it's not exactly what you want.

it is of course a bind to do that each time and yes you are correct it's not
quite correct

> It would align latin text left
> and everything else right. Not really usable I guess ;) But how would a
> left handed layout look like then?

to start with:

K on the right, then for the menu: icons on the right, arrows pointing inward
if there are options

> I'm sorry, no offence intended :-S Let's skip this while I trying to figure
> out how to say what I wanted to say in english :)

I realise no offence was intended.  The point I made badly was that there is
 a left handed way of seeing/thinking - I understand but cannot reference at
 this moment (but it includes The Economist) that as a consequence left
 handers tend to have a different "bell curve" performance in a right-handed
 world.  We tend to either do well or do badly but have a lesser tendency to
 just get along.   (reflected apparently. in a variety of ways, including
 lower life expectancy)

It's a common theme that we could be right-handed if we really wanted to be
and it can be quite sensitising.  For example I had to clamp my mouth when a
close friend with zygotic twins, one left handed, one right handed, described
the left handed one as being clumsy.  (We often are)

No sign of my left-handed chequebook being moderated in or out yet

Gerry

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