kapowaz: stumblelog

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Developers; Users; Open Source; UI

The above can come to no-good end when mixed in the wrong proportions. Case in point, this firestorm that has enveloped the Pidgin userbase following a change to how the text entry area within IM windows behaves (previously it was resizable; now it auto-resizes based on how much text you enter).

Whilst on one side I’m definitely a proponent of benevolent dictatorship where UI decisions are concerned, there’s a clear and demonstrable lack of common sense from some of the developers here, for instance:

People don’t realize the entire window is a click target for giving the input area focus

It should be noted that this assertion is implied to be the fault of the end user; in essence, the fact they don’t know about this feature makes it their own fault.

This is wrong; plain and simple. There is no such thing as User Error in a software program - if the user interface isn’t clear enough then the user will simply behave in a way that they feel is appropriate, or become confused and frustrated when they can’t do what they’re trying to. Simply foisting extra responsibility upon the end user to somehow psychically detect unobvious features is not the solution.

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Is Mike Arrington a Dick?

Don’t blame Ryan King for this one.

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Oh, the drama

To all individuals complaining about not being able to get a ticket for BarCamp London 4:

Bugs in the ticket system are not the fault of the organiser
If you exploit bugs in the system to register early, you shouldn’t be surprised if your ticket gets cancelled
If you get somebody else to register for you, either as a favour or by offering them free dim sum, you shouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t work out for you
Bitching about it on Twitter isn’t improving your chances of getting in on the reserve list

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Michael Arrington

<BenWard> Well, he found out about Blaine leaving Twitter two weeks after I did, so I'd suggest being the bleeding edge of start-up news mightn't be TC's hand any more. Linkbaiting is a more sustainable model.

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<crosby> the xbox is for when I want to play with myself (or others over t'internet)

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2.7

— The average viewer rating (out of ten) on iMDB for Uwe Boll’s (presently released) videogame adaptations.

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And to be honest, the real gamers are the typical download guys, right? They don’t pay anything for movies, because they illegally download the movies. So why I should please these guys? I need the normal audience.

— Uwe Boll, the gamer (and cinemagoer)’s friend.

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…we will not sell the movie rights, not to you…. especially not to you…

— Blizzard to Uwe Boll, upon the latter enquiring as to whether or not he can be involved in the World of Warcraft movie.

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The Web would be a happier place if virtually all Reset buttons were removed.

— Jakob Nielsen, nearly eight years ago. If your design team are still arguing the case for incorporating reset buttons into your forms, they need educating.