Review Request: Bug 198661 (Option to disable scroll wheel on taskbar)

[Gábor Lehel]

> is there a real, common and valid use case that states "i
> want to do mouse wheeling over the tasks widget but not
> the pager?" i'd suggest the answer is no.

With respect, I am not sure this is true. I personally have had no
problems with things being "wheel-enabled" anywhere else besides the
taskbar (well, maybe the desktop, but that's already configurable). In
many places it is quite convenient.

Why?
There are two general cases which tend to happen:

(1) I am scrolling through a web page, .cpp file, etc., and my finger,
for half a moment, veers outside of the thin strip at the edge of the
touchpad designated for scrolling, causing the cursor to move a
hundred or so pixels downward onto the taskbar, where the rest of the
scrolling motion is then finished.
(2) I am reading a document, and after getting to the bottom of it, I
scroll downwards, not realizing that the cursor is in fact resting
over the taskbar and not the document.

In either case, this leads to severe disruption of concentration and
general chaos.

Why is this only a problem with the taskbar (and the desktop), and not
other things? I suggest it is because the taskbar is a big huge target
(even bigger and huger due to Fitt's Law) along the middle of the
bottom of the screen, making it very easy to move the cursor over it
accidentally, whereas other things aren't. I mean, I guess if someone
decided to put a giant clock or pager along the middle of their bottom
panel they would have similar issues, but who does that?

Minimizing the number of configuration options is a noble goal, and
your concern that once this option is granted for the taskbar it's a
slippery slope and it'll end up proliferating all over the place is
understandable, but I don't think, in this case, that those
assumptions are actually self-evident.

On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 10:42 PM, Aaron J. Seigo <aseigo at kde.org> wrote:
> hi Ravi ..
>
> On December 13, 2009, Ravi Vagadia wrote:
>> Hello , this is my first patch :)
>
> thanks for the patch.
>
> note that we use the KDE libs coding style:
>
>        http://techbase.kde.org/Policies/Kdelibs_Coding_Style
>
> and it's good practice to keep new code in line with that style. also note
> that we tend to use http://reviewboard.kde.org for patch review.
>
> anyways, on to the actual issue here: should scroll wheeling move around
> through the taskbar. i honestly don't think it's worth yet another option in
> the tasks widget. in general, options for 'what happens when i click this
> button' tend to get pretty annoying when they are found everywhere.
>
> but the real issue: is there a real, common and valid use case that states "i
> want to do mouse wheeling over the tasks widget but not the pager?" i'd
> suggest the answer is no. people want to turn off the scrolling in the tasks
> widget because they have crappy hardware or poor motor control. since that's
> the reason, they tend to have the same request for the pager. and the clock.
> and other widgets that support mouse wheeling.
>
> so if we are going to do this, i'd prefer to see a general solution with one
> configuration option in one location.
>
> --
> Aaron J. Seigo
> humru othro a kohnu se
> GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA  EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43
>
> KDE core developer sponsored by Qt Development Frameworks
>
> _______________________________________________
> Plasma-devel mailing list
> Plasma-devel at kde.org
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/plasma-devel
>
>



-- 
Work is punishment for failing to procrastinate effectively.