Re: SEUL: Is there a user for S.E.U.L.?

[Randy Heineke <heineke@vanilla.r.umn.edu>]

Dave Close had some good remarks about novices and SEUL.  I applaud a
user based discussion. He suggests that they may not be worth the effort.
He may be right especially if a quick release may be our only chance of
a release. I think we should not totally abandon them though. 

1.  We can address the issue that represents the greatest obsticle to
    Linux's proliferation.  We add to the viability of Linux.  

2.  Their numbers are huge, with an enormus impact on what software
    producers decide to support.

3.  Designing with a novice user model prevents us from designing a relic
    that will never be extensible to novices.

4.  If Linux is easier for novices, it should be easier for everyone else
    as well.

5.  This is the direction that all of the distributions are headed
    anyway.  We can choose our design or wait for someone else's
    impression of how it should be done.  

6.  We need to consider what knowledge is possesed by our users.  This is
    the secret to a good user interface.  Even if we only consider users  
    who aren't novices anymore.  We will have difficulty when we expect 
    users to posses more knowledge than they do.  I expect their level of
    knowledge is quite varied.  For any aspect of Linux, what is the
    likelyhood that there will not be a significant number who of
    experienced users that have no more expertise than a novice.  If we
    abandon novices we may lose many experienced users as well.

I accept that if we want something qucikly we may have to take positions
about what not to support for the first release.  These should be
informed decisions.  We should know what we are postponing or abandoning.
We should plan room to incorporate novice specific enhancements for a
situation where resources permit.


Regards

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