Re: [Audacity-devel] <rant>hyper-verbosity<\rant>
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From: Martyn S. <mar...@go...> - 2007-11-08 01:36:08
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Vaughan Hear hear! I agree with your sentiments, if not the detail. Just my opinions below: I think that most people using Audacity will be connected to t'internet and so will be able to access on-line help. I think that much of the effort that goes into writing 'about' user support here should be spent 'writing' support on-line, in a one-off fashion (ie not answering individuals questions). So there should be brief error/problem messages and a 'help' button linking to on-line pages on every occasion. In-built help (including wordy dialogs) should be minimised. If a user does not have t'internet, then they must have got a CD or something that should contain a snapshot of the on-line help. Vaughan Johnson wrote: > <rant> > > I was using Audacity 1.3.4rc0.3 yesterday, and I'm really struck by its > hyper-verbosity. I'm just opining here, and I think we should go ahead > and release it and see if users have the same response. But I think that > several of the additions in the last months, introduced to try to reduce > the tech support overhead, will have the opposite effect, and worse, > will irritate the vast majority of users who don't need all the > additional hand-holding. I've been feeling this for a while, but it's > been a gradual creep, and I think the end result is problematic. Some > examples: > > The Splash screen is too verbose Hear hear! I have been trying various combinations of rc0.4 (in various languages) tonight so I've seen that box rather too often... and comes at a time when new users > won't have any idea what those problems or hints are. Any unnecessary > verbiage is a nuisance, *and* just makes more work for all the > translators. Long live _Elements of Style_! > > * "You can click on the links below to learn how to..."? How about > just "Learn how to:"? Everybody recognizes a link, don't they? We > cannot provide basic tech support on how to use a computer. Agreed > * The paragraph below that list could easily convey its information > in about half the words, e.g.,"For more detailed reading, please > read" could just be "For details, see...". I'd delete that paragraph from that splash. As you say, new user don't know about the problems it refers to, as they haven't found them yet. And why tell people they are going to have problems? Better to say "If you have problems, try the 'Help' menu item", or something. > * And what's the value of "Let's get started!" and "Welcome again to > Audacity."?! It's great if you are a little kiddy (I guess). Not so great for a grown up. > But what really drove me crazier yesterday was the Save Project warning > dialog. Just the simple operation of importing a WAV and saving the > project brings up two warning dialogs: > > * "Audacity project files (.aup)..." is 48 words telling me that > Audacity works like most other document-based programs -- it has > its own format complemented with import/export commands. I think > people will object to having to read it, and its intended > audience, a very small percentage of our users, will simply be > confused. I agree that it's wordy, of historical interest, and of (some) use to dimwits. However, an Audacity Project and an audio file (wav, mp3 etc) are very different entities. People used to wav files may not have the concept of a 'project' in their heads. I use both Audacity and Audition with my students and they often hand in .ses files without the associated audio. Useless. Dimwits. How do we get it though to them? > * Then after the Save dialog, the one that I think is truly > horrible, titled "Project depends on other audio files" (which > needs standard capitalization). This has 58 words (including the > longest-named buttons I've ever seen), all of which will be > confusing to novices and a nuisance for other users. Heck, it's > confusing to me, *and* there is no default button. OK, I think it should default to 'copy in', but have not tried it. And it is a multi-buttoned dialog that looks confusing, but what's the alternative? Plus there's > the menu-ized pref at the bottom to further overwhelm novices. > Also, I accidentally clicked on "Copy Selected Audio Into Project" > and could not Cancel it from the progress dialog -- about 45 > minutes of audio. > > After I killed the process and restarted, I got the crash recovery > dialog and its "do you really mean it" warning tag-along -- both also > far too verbose, and the second just a plain pain in the neck (with no > "don't ask again" option). > > I know these and others have been reworded numerous times, but in the > absence of user feedback. Those multiple rewordings are probably why > they're so baroque. I don't want to delay release because of these, but > I want to be on record that I think these are bad for Audacity, because > they're just in the way for anybody with moderate computer skills or > better, and will not significantly help the intended (clue-deprived) > audience. I am inclined to agree. Any novice won't know what to do with all the buttons/options and any new savvy will be put off with what to turn off. But what are the options? Are we looking towards a switchable 'dimwit' version and an 'advanced' version? I would like to take this forward for the savvy, but that would take more time to explain than I have. G'night. Martyn > > Thanks for reading all this. Just MHO. > > - Vaughan > > <\rant> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > _______________________________________________ > Audacity-devel mailing list > Aud...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/audacity-devel > |