the past, present and future of drupal admin

> -----Original Message-----
> From: development-bouncesdrupal.org 
> [mailto:development-bouncesdrupal.org] On Behalf Of
Jeremy Epstein
>
> Just a quick example from another piece of software
(and yes, people
> can complain that Microsoft is evil and that it
produces buggy
> software, but they can't complain that its software is
terribly hard
> to use).  In Windows XP, the 'control panel' groups
administrative
> tasks logically. There is no 'settings' icon within
the Windows
> control panel. However, within the 'Display' area,
there is a
> 'settings' tab (for 'global' settings, such as your
screen
> resolution), along with 'sets-of-data' things, such
as colour schemes
> and screen savers. Same with the 'User Accounts'
area: the management
> of individual user accounts is right in there with the
'general user
> settings'. Certainly something to consider.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jaza.

I feel the need to mention something here.  While I realize
the example
provided is an example and I am the guy that definitly uses
MS the
example above is not complete as I have a very different
experience with
it.

The Windows XP control panel offers multiple views.  A
classic and
category.  These views are can also be controlled by policy
settings
locally or from a domain level, etc.  Frankly, I find the
the 'category
view to be hard to understand and find things consistently. 
Part of
this is training and experience and part of this is that
some of the
categorizations do not make sense to me.

Also, in your Display example.  There exists Video drivers
that extend
the options available and many times these options are not
presented in
a manner that makes sense.  (nVidia drivers for instance). 
This gives
an effect not unlike some contrib modules.

The user accounts button example is also incomplete.  If you
have a more
complex envirnoment, it is not in fact something you use. 
You use a
different tool to manage user accounts in a domain
environment including
local accounts so never learn about these settings in a
domain
environment.

So, what's my point of dragging in the different and
advanced options of
this example?   (Well, someone used an example from my
field.  )  Well
not that, but this ....

It really doesn't matter what interface we eventually go
with because
people are going to have to learn it.  That it takes lessons
from the
current GUI 'norms' (assuming such exist) is good.  What
does matter is
that we decide on rules and guidelines for it.  Then we
publish those
rules and guidelines for contrib.

AND we try to be consistent about the logic for placement. 
Any
interface will need to be learned no matter what.  As long
as we are
consistent about it, it will less of a curve.  Drupal is
still not a
'simple' thing to use and despite the fact that it is
getting easier it
doesn't mean easy. .  The
Drupal admin interface has been evolving.  

I think Earl's admin interface patch is a step in the right
direction.
It's been worked on and gotten a lot of good feedback to
refine it.  I
think that it can be fine-tuned over time from this starting
point, but
it's pretty darn good now.

-sp

The XP Control Panel is a case in point: almost everyone
switches to
Classic view since this is what they are used to.

I even switch XP Playskool theme to the Windows 2000 Classic
theme
and know many who do the same.

Terms like "slick", "sharp" and
"pretty" are irrelevant when they cause
users to be confused by a new interface and revert back to a
less
pretty but familiar interface.

> It really doesn't matter what interface we eventually
go with because
> people are going to have to learn it.  That it takes
lessons from the
> current GUI 'norms' (assuming such exist) is good. 
What does matter is
> that we decide on rules and guidelines for it.  Then we
publish those
> rules and guidelines for contrib.

That was my point : familiarity. No matter what we use, it
is a question
of learning it. All we need to do is make it consistent, and
users will
have to learn it.