From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from lists.gentoo.org ([140.105.134.102] helo=robin.gentoo.org) by nuthatch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1EHj9o-0008Rb-1x for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:31:40 +0000 Received: from robin.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.5/8.13.5) with SMTP id j8KEPFeK007308; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:25:15 GMT Received: from zproxy.gmail.com (zproxy.gmail.com [64.233.162.196]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id j8KEPDJm004334 for ; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:25:14 GMT Received: by zproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id x7so544106nzc for ; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:31:01 -0700 (PDT) DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=beta; d=gmail.com; h=received:message-id:disposition-notification-to:date:from:user-agent:x-accept-language:mime-version:to:subject:references:in-reply-to:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=hs8xhSsiJoYJal4Tmdg0Uk1/Bf6kgEu5T8HUVs+xUebcrfj10RgZ2QS1O14PA+SUXRqhP+tTmlVT0Zjpx5H5Lznrkh6AkfiBdB/L7R1LSflFfbQrMWZ9qEvNbjzihiGFj1PfixbfFbHG32pAPSDBS9AaEiuCzjtovJIkj5skhXQ= Received: by 10.54.81.13 with SMTP id e13mr1585235wrb; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:31:01 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ?1.1.1.20? ( [82.228.220.32]) by mx.gmail.com with ESMTP id 44sm2578324wri.2005.09.20.07.31.00; Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:31:01 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <433037E8.80600@gmail.com> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 16:25:12 +0000 From: Erick Michau User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.6 (X11/20050826) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-installer@gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-installer@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-installer@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-installer] educating users References: <432DE560.5070200@gentoo.org> <51f84ab505091914344779adb1@mail.gmail.com> <432F66BB.1030700@gmail.com> <200509201530.42455.pauldv@gentoo.org> <15d1a07905092006517947187d@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <15d1a07905092006517947187d@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Archives-Salt: 4a258165-eee4-4933-8ef9-9ba28750179e X-Archives-Hash: c5bce76e21948c627ea7664cbbe23eaf Jesse McNelis wrote: >On 9/20/05, Paul de Vrieze wrote: > > >>On Tuesday 20 September 2005 03:32, Zac Medico wrote: >> >> >>>Paul J. Wilson wrote: >>> >>> >>>>Regular, everyday users tend not to have the time to spend on the >>>>finer points of linux and gentoo in particular. >>>> >>>> >>>These "everyday users" are unqualified to administrate a Gentoo box for >>>various reasons including the inherent complexity of a source based >>>distribution. A binary distribution with lots of "hand holding" would >>>better suit their needs. Perhaps they could even use a binary >>>distribution of Gentoo itself, but supported by some other entity. >>> >>>Sure, an "everyday user" can *use* Gentoo, but administration is best >>>left to experts. That's all IMO, of course. ;) >>> >>> >>I think this indeed sums it up well. Gentoo is not aimed at users who do >>not want (or are not capable) to learn some more complex parts of the >>unix/linux operating system. That does not mean it's insuitable for >>newbees, it means that they have a steep learning curve ahead. Gentoo is >>not the most easy distribution around, and this is not the aim of gentoo. >>Gentoo is, like any other distro, not a 20 legged spider. It is a source >>based distribution with the goal of offering an uptodate, flexible, >>vanilla system. >> >>Paul >> >>-- >>Paul de Vrieze >>Gentoo Developer >>Mail: pauldv@gentoo.org >>Homepage: http://www.devrieze.net >> >> >> >> >> > >I've always wondered at the definition of "easy to use". >does "easy to use" mean that you can pick it up and be productive in >an afternoon? >or does "easy to use" mean that once you have put in the hard yards to >learn it, it is extremely easy to do everyday tasks and just as easy >to do complex ones? > >- Jesse McNelis > > > > Hi all, I deeply think the topic here has become more about the way users (newbies and devs) are apprehending their interaction (which for obvious reasons are very contradictive) with their computers rather than a real installer development subject. Not that this is a bad thing, but the conception of Human Computer Interaction (HCI ) from each "side" (newbies and devs) is IMO much more complex than what it may look like. It is much more about design and cognitive science rather than just general statements like "gentoo is not for this type of users or that type": Gentoo is free and for everyone. Indeed, it is up to the devs to estimate, conceive and design an interface (GUI or CLI) and new users (newbies) have their place in the testing phaze which takes place far after conception (eventhough some theories ship the newby directly during early design). The idea here is that designing (not coding) an installer which is like a "gate" that allow "true and understood" communication between newbies and devs during the install process is almost the HARDEST part of that project, here again IMO. My point is: if some newbies would like to defend the idea of a quiz or whatsoever, could that be possible to post it on forums.gentoo.org rather than to this mailing list? We would have much more people reading and commenting and more HCI experts to help the devs out if they need to. Because now I think the reflexion here is more guided by intuitive conceptions rather than theories, which is not bad but not the best way... Thanx, Erick -- gentoo-installer@gentoo.org mailing list