User interfaces should teach, not hide
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| Obviously, I?ve ranted for a bit here, but the insight is simple: GUIs
| for free software, in order to appeal to the same ideals that make free
| software possible, should provide some kind of transparency. It should
| be possible for the end user to capture the messages going from GUI
| front-end to CLI back-end, or to see the configuration files that that
| fancy GUI configurator is writing. At least tell us where you?re writing
| all that mysterious information, so we can go diving for it afterwards.
|
| If you do this, then you?ll be inviting end-users to become more involved,
| and healing the gap between ?user? and ?developer?. You?ll be providing
| a much needed incentive and educational help. You?ll also be givinge
| nd-users that feeling of greater control over their system which is one
| of the main draws to free software operating systems.
|
| We can learn what?s good from proprietary GUIs without copying all the
| bad habits or turning our backs on the ideals inherent in good, open
| design.
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http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/1695
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