Abandon "Default Desktop"

[Rahul Sundaram]

On 04/30/2009 02:22 PM, Roberto Ragusa wrote:
> Adam Williamson wrote:
> 
>> We're circling. I already said that even if it doesn't really matter
>> which option you pick, making someone make a decision they don't
>> understand frustrates them. That's the problem, not the 'danger' that
>> they might pick the 'wrong choice'.
> 
> Eh eh, the discussion is about giving a user the choice to select
> the desktop he wants.

Not really. Users clearly already have the choice. If you like KDE, pick
the KDE Live CD which is prominently highlighted in the download page.

This discussion is about forcing the user to pick one by emphasizing
political correctness by not picking defaults which is the worst of all
possible choices. I don't see why I shouldn't ask for Xfce and ratpoison
as among the choices offered if we are going to take this line of
argument further. What about offering the choice of emacs or vi and
asking the user to pick one before proceeding with the installation?

> The GNOME desktop tries to avoid user choices.
> The KDE desktop tries to encourage user choices.
> 
> And the decision on allowing a desktop choice divides people
> in two camps:
> 1) those that think the user should not choose
> 2) those that think the user should have to choose

> 
> I'd bet people in 1) are GNOME users and people in 2) are KDE users.
> 
> I'm in 2) and I'm a KDE user, I'd guess you instead use GNOME ;-)

This is a broad misgeneralization especially since these desktop
environment learn from each other all the time and have even converged
on a look and feel or some standards or share implementation details in
many cases. The personal choice of a desktop environment is far more
nuanced than can be adequately described in a installer (ie) that is the
wrong place to describe them.

Rahul