No more right click terminal

Nicolas Mailhot Nicolas.Mailhot at laPoste.net
Fri Jul 22 20:48:03 UTC 2005


Le vendredi 22 juillet 2005 à 21:23 +0200, Iago Rubio a écrit :

> I disagree a bit with you here, as the "Applications" menu is always
> visible in the panel, and to say over the phone "... click the menu item
> at Applications/System Tools/Terminal ... " is not going to kill anyone.

More indirections as writing it shows. And obviously you've only ever
worked with power users ;) (at least they are compared to some of mine
if you consider this "will never kill anyone")

> Furthermore you'll be teaching this user where the system tools are
> located, so he's learning the right way to do it,

Some users resent being taught. And will actively blame you if you even
suggest you're addressing more than the actual problem they want you to
take care of.

> The "Terminal" entry in the "Desktop" contextual menu, may drive a
> clueless user to think the "Terminal" thing have something to do with
> the Desktop - that's not true.

The root windows is the starting point of common tasks. Terminal entry
belongs there - it's a common workflow starting point. Wallpaper does
not - it's not a common task. You are actually confusing the desktop
metaphor with the real computer science desktop object, which has always
been a task starting point and nothing else.

> Even worst, this entry opens a shell cd-ing to $HOME and not to the
> Desktop folder, so it's even more confusing.

That's because someone decided to throw computer logic out of the window
to get an empty desktop root. As others have noted, if you're willing to
take æsthetical considerations aside, $HOME=desktop is the natural thing
to do. Do not blame cli root and gui root separation on the terminal.
They may be physically distinct now but are functionaly the same.

> A user selecting a menu
> item - on the desktop contextual menu - to open a Terminal window should
> be moved to the Desktop folder not to $HOME.

Again, you're confusing the computer object you have in your mind with
the function users want. Users that use the terminal entry in the root
window will want to be taken to the natural shell root, which the
Desktop folder isn't. All you're gaining is exposing the bad logic that
presided to the $HOME-Desktop separation.

> With this in mind, I think that to drop this entry out of the Desktop
> contextual menu is much better for clueless users.
> 
> For those with computer-savvy friends, they can always ask them to add a
> little script to the $HOME/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts folder, with those
> lines:
...

If you want clueless users to do it pray write the documentation I'll
laugh 

If you want the computer-savy friends to do it don't you think if they
had this kind of control they wouldn't need to do remote-control by
phone ? The whole point is to be able to help a user with a pristine
unmodified system.

> Users expect consistency among menu actions, and the contextual menu -
> the "pop menu" - should trigger actions on the currently selected
> object, and should not execute random commands - despite of the command
> itself being really useful, or totally useless.

If a command is really useful in any context it's 100% appropriate.
People who disagree on this based on the metaphor they're trying to
build always end up in the GUI hall of shame.

The point is not to build a system consistent with an abstract object,
but with the actual software objects people use. That's why computer
mice have their tail the same side as their ears, even if consistency
with living mice would mandate moving it to the other end.

-- 
Nicolas Mailhot
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