25 Feb
2013
25 Feb
'13
1:32 a.m.
Choice is bad. Or rather, having *too much choice* is
bad. And it must be *informed* choice. This is not informed choice.
Too much choice is called *complication*, and it is bad for business, it is bad for
mental health, bad for users, and bad for developers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/too-many-choices-are-bad-for-business-2012-1…
http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/11/21.html
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=3290
Alexandre has added an option to Trinity to support another option. Has he written the
documentation to explain that option? Has he written the tests to ensure that all Trinity
software works correctly whichever option the user chooses?
I expect not. So by adding this choice, Trinity now is probably a little worse, not
better. A little worse documented, a little worse tested.
Or rather, I should say he has added an option to *his* version on Trinity. Now I have
uncertainty and doubt, not choice. If I install Trinity, which Trinity will I get? Will it
be Trinity that feels like KDE 3 with Konqueror, or Trinity that feels like KDE 4 with
Dolphin? What other bits have been removed? How will I know before I spend my valuable
time and effort downloading and installing it?
Where is my choice if I do not know what I will get?
Alexandre, if you want to fork Trinity to make a mutant hybrid that's half KDE 3 and
half KDE 4, then give people real choice by giving it a new name and not claim it is
Trinity. Or you are welcome to try to convince the Trinity developer team to accept his
modifications, so that they apply to Trinity no matter where I get it from. But having
Trinity be different depending on who you get it from is a *bad thing*, and it speaks
badly for the Trinity project.
If I have a bad experience with Trinity, is it because Trinity is broken, or because
I've installed a bad modification? If I recommend Trinity to colleagues and friends,
and they install "the wrong version", will they try again with "the right
version", or will they just dismiss Trinity as broken and me as having no
credibility?
--
Steven
Well that's getting a real joke! Once again!
I am not a software developer. I don't know how to make a computer program. And you
tell me that I have added an option to TDE? Certainly not.
It is funny that those who always write against what I say are never here on this mailing
list to help users who are experiencing problems. They are not TDE devs too. They are only
here to complain about what I say, in a non-constructive way. They are not making things
available for TDE.
An example of a feature added to TDE that was not in KDE 3.5.10 is the compositor. Has it
broken all TDE and maked the users all upside down like what your are doing right now? Of
course, not at all. It was just a nice addition to TDE and some persons have worked hard
to implement it, so whe should all thank those who want to improve TDE in any way.
-Alexandre