kubuntu kdebase patches to plasma

[Celeste Lyn Paul]

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 10:27 AM, Marco Martin <notmart at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday 13 November 2009, Celeste Lyn Paul wrote:
>> On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:04 PM, Aaron J. Seigo <aseigo at kde.org> wrote:
>> > On November 12, 2009, Jonathan Riddell wrote:
>> >> kubuntu_19_always_show_kickoff_subtext.diff, the subtexts in kickoff
>> >> sometimes show always and sometimes on mouse over, this makes that
>> >> consistent.  It's been discussed here before.
>> >> http://bazaar.launchpad.net/%7Ekubuntu-members/kdebase-workspace/ubuntu/
>> >>ann
>> >> otate/head%3A/debian/patches/kubuntu_19_always_show_kickoff_subtext.diff
>> >
>> > this patch is, usability-wise, wrong. the subtexts are shown when
>> > disambiguation is necessary. otherwise you need to mouse over them to
>> > figure out what's what.
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting only showing the
>> subtext when there are multiple applications and not for any other
>> applications? And do you mean on by default or mouseover (your comment
>> is ambiguous)?
>
> I suppose the behaviour it has now.
> -show only the main text, that is the generic name
> -show the subtext (the app name) on mouse over
> -if there are two entries with the same generic name always show the subtext,
> to disambiguare between the two

In some cases you have some text that is always on, some text that is
only on via mouseover, and some text that is never on (not all entries
have subtext, e.g. System Settings). This behavior is inconsistent and
confusing in addition to some of these problems:

* When you have some items with subtext on by default (such as when
you have multiple browsers installed), there is less of an affordance
to check for the subtext hints because some are already visible, so
why would you keep looking?
* When some labels are on by default but others appear on mouseover,
it looks like a bug before you figure out the "disambiguity" pattern
* Subtext on mouseover requires the user to read with their mouse
which is awkward and unnatural, nevermind impossible on touch
interfaces and adds burden to those using a keyboard instead of a
mouse for accessibility reasons.
* For the task-based labels, mouseover subtext make it more difficult
for users to find applications by name -- which does happen. People
get recommendations for installing "Marble" not "Desktop Globe". It
only supports a single use case.
* For the application-based labels, if you are unfamiliar with the
names or branding, you *must* read with your mouse.
* When there are no labels, or the labels are not visible, the primary
label looks disproportionately small compared to the icon because a
space must be made for the subtext.

I just don't see any compelling reasons why the subtext should be
turned off. "Unclutter" the interface doesnt work for me; if the
subtext is "clutter" then the labels are bad and should be improved or
it is noise and shouldnt be there at all.

>
> Cheers,
> Marco Martin
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>



-- 
Celeste Lyn Paul
KDE Usability Project
KDE e.V. Board of Directors
www.kde.org