Text File

Aucb.151 fa.editor-p utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!C70:editor-p Wed Dec 9 12:13:38 1981 Customizing editor interfaces -- dare we give such power? >From decvax!watmath!idallen@Berkeley Wed Dec 9 12:11:23 1981 I probably shouldn't get involved in this wonderful discussion before I finish my exams, but I find I can't resist...

I feel Ken Laws' summary concerning the need for different types of editors is well put (Dec 4); let us not confuse sophisticated users with "ordinary" users. It is not helpful for an "ordinary" user to know that s/he can express some editing function in a mere average 2.5 keystrokes, if in fact the user cannot remember what the keystrokes are! I would dearly love to spend some time to gather data on this point, but failing that must express this as a "feels-right" conclusion. The cross-product approach is possibly a loser for sophisticated users -- it takes too many key-strokes to do simple things. But for "ordinary" users, it may save innumerable frustrating trips to the manuals (or local gurus).

There exist editors which allow one to customize the interfaces to a large extent. It seems to have gone without comment that this is a desireable thing to do. (Personally, I can dearly love an environment where I can customize absolutely everything. It is also the case that certain people, when given the opportunity to change something, will change things just to be different. Such flexibility cries out for expression!) The serious question which goes begging in all of this is "If we give the 'ordinary' user enough rope, will s/he hang him/herself?". I think it possible that if we give the novice user enough power, s/he may design an environment which at first appears wonderful, but which may eventually alienate him/her. This is not exactly the fault of the software, but a fault of the design process. Maybe this design, which has sparked this discussion and countless others without sign of solution, is not something which we ought to leave to the "ordinary" human editor? We trust in architects to design our homes; is software design for public use perhaps similar?

-IAN! (U of Waterloo)

----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/

This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided:

1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles.

2. The following notice remains appended to each copy:

The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.