On Friday 22 May 2009 17:31:46 Cl?ment wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> First, let's see the current situation :
>
>
> #Navigation :
>
> 9 items is really the max we can afford. Currently there are 9 items, but
> they
> aren't all necessary, and can confuse the newbies.
Agreed, we need sub-menus.
>
> #Browse Freenet page :
>
> The ?Search Freenet? field and bookmarks are definitly a good thing.
> However, why do we have :
> ?Fetch a key? : we don't want to fetch a key, we want to browse Freenet.
Some users DO want to fetch a key. But maybe it should be on the queue page.
> ?Version Information & Node Control? : we don't care, we just want to browse
> Freenet.
When they come to us, we usually need to know the version number.
> ?Current Activity? : idem
Fair point.
>
> #Messages :
>
> I agree we need to inform user when something is wrong. However, for the
> bookmarks, it's not the good place.
> I don't think either that there should be one page just for the messages :
> sometimes there is no message, it just wastes space.
In which case we don't show the menu item.
If we put all the messages on the main page in full, they take up so much space
that newbies don't see the rest of the page.
There are a number of messages that take up multiple slots on the message list
when they should really just post a summary and point to another page where
they are in full (e.g. n2ntms should be on the friends page, bookmark updates
on the browse freenet page).
We should probably either
1) not link the messages page from the main menu, but keep it, or
2) make messages expand themselves when you click on them
>
> #Download and Upload :
>
> No clear separation between dowloads and uploads.
Agreed. WHEN we have sub-menus, we should separate the two.
>
> #Plugins :
>
> This is a mess : here we access the plugins, we can add an official plugin,
> we
> can add a plugin from an url, we can add a plugin from freenet.
It is not very user-friendly, because the box doesn't tell a newbie very much,
and the dropdown for official plugins doesn't give any indication what they do.
However, the functionality is important. We may want to split this into
multiple pages under a sub-menu, but we certainly want to document the official
plugins.
>
> #Connections to friends + connections to strangers :
>
> Why 2 separate pages ?
Because they are different! Friends and Strangers are completely different
IMHO. Friends have names, you can send them text messages, etc. Strangers are
just numbers - normal users don't care about their IP address, etc.
> Why showing informations about the current activity of
> the node ?
Good question. Some of it is per-node so clearly has to be here (but only in
advanced mode), but the status at the top is debatable.
> All is mixed : managing nodes (adding/deleting) and showing their status. Why
> are the ports showed ?
Where do you propose we put them? On the Internet Connection page, I guess?
Some users will need to know them for port forwarding reasons.
>
> #Statistics :
>
> Nothing to say. It's just statistics. Maybe divide in several category.
It's huge yeah, it should probably be split eventually.
>
> #Internet Connection :
>
> ??? It doesn't even work here... And when it works, it shows debug
> informations or really advanced ones. Why a level 1 page for that ? (why a
> page for that in fact..)
In "Simple interface", my node shows:
Connectivity
UDP Darknet port 24374 Port forwarded
UDP Opennet port 37024 Maybe port forwarded
This is not immediately comprehensible by a new user. We will tell the user
that they need to forward specific ports with a useralert if we need to.
However, this information may be of use somewhere, it should probably be hidden
away though.
>
> #Configuration :
>
> A big big mess. Really. When in simple mode, it's almost ok, but in advanced
> mode....
Please could you elaborate on that a bit?
> Why a link to the security levels just on side of mode switching buttons ?
> It's not even related.
Security levels are part of configuration!
>
> #Mode switching :
>
> It's a pita : I have to go in the advanced configuration page to change this,
> or to click on the button on each page
I don't see any alternative given that most users will only want to see the
simple stuff, but devs and some power users will definitely want to see more.
>
>
>
> Now, what do I propose :
>
> #Navigation :
>
> ##Menu :
>
> (level 1, category : noun; level 2, action : verb)
Okay, first point is you use sub-menus. I strongly approve of sub-menus.
Caco_Patane was working on them, but if he doesn't get back to us somebody else
will have to do it. Really it's not a huge change, it just needs rewriting the
CSSes and some tiny changes in the java code after that.
>
> Freesites :
> => Browse Freenet
> => Insert your own site (when available)
Agreed.
>
> Filesharing :
> => Download files
> => Upload files
Agreed.
>
> Discussion :
> => Talk with FreeTalk (when Freetalk available)
We were thinking of calling it "Message boards" or "Forums" or something, but
yes it needs to be a top-level item, because it has its own menu.
>
> Status :
> => Show the {number of messages} messages (if there are some)
Putting the messages *only* here is a bad idea. Some of these messages are
IMPORTANT. What we need to do is:
- show the summary on the Browse Freenet page and maybe others
- reduce the number of messages by coalescing them and shifting them to the
relevant pages: "You have 6 messages" with a link to the Friends page rather
than one for each n2ntm, similar with bookmark updates.
I agree that having the Messages page under Status makes sense however.
> => Show connections
No, not as a single item. Connections to Friends are something that should be
treated separately from connections to Strangers. You can chat with Friends,
send them files, view their bookmarks, you know their names, you care about
them to some degree and trust them to some degree (which may be explicitly
configurable for each). Connections to strangers are different - unless you are
a geek or your node is behaving very oddly you probably don't care about them.
IMHO Friends should be a top level item, or at least a separate item under
Status.
> => Show statistics
I agree the stats page should be on a sub-menu somewhere. Maybe we should have
a Geeky Stuff menu, but putting it under status probably makes sense.
>
> Configuration
You are not subdividing this? Security levels have a page of their own already
essentially... OTOH we could keep the current seclevels/simple/advanced layout
that you objected to...
>
> Plugins (if required)
> => Plugin 1
> => Plugin 2
> => Plugin 3
We need a way to load official plugins, with a list which explains what they
do, as well as being able to use current plugins, update plugins etc. Some
plugins integrate on the web interface, some are so geeky that we don't
normally want to visit them (e.g. UPnP and JSTUN should be under Status) ...
> ?.
>
> Managing the node :
>
> A always seeable (sorry for new words...) button 'Shutdown the node' and
> 'Restart the node'
You want to encourage people to shut down? IMHO the best way to do that is with
a system tray icon.
>
> Mode switching :
>
> Idem with : 'Switch to {mode=simple?advanced:simple} mode'
Don't we have that now? You just want it to persist between pages?
>
> #Details :
>
> ##Freesites :
>
> ###Browse Freenet :
>
> if XMLLibrarian plugin is loaded, show the search freenet field, else, show a
> message like : 'if you want to search freesites, you have to load the
> XMLLibrarian plugin' followed by a button 'Load the plugin'
Agreed, the warning that XMLLibrarian isn't loaded is not very helpful.
>
> Then show bookmarks. If a bookmark is updated, highlight it.
Agreed, we need to indicate that a bookmark is updated within the Browse
Freenet page, without relying on alerts.
>
> That's all.
>
> ###Insert your freesite :
>
> two solutions :
>
> not displaying it until we have a plugin for that
>
> or display a message like 'This feature is not yet available. Please use
> ?jSite / Thingamablog / the-other-freesite-manager-I-don't-remember-the-name?
> instead.' Possibility to add some instructions, like how to make a freesite
> available for all.
Hmmm, not a bad idea.
>
>
> ##Filesharing :
>
> On both pages, at the exact same place :
>
> Show the number of current downloads and uploads.
And the total size, surely?
>
> ###Downloads :
>
> Field bulk download;
What does that mean?
> Show the progress of downloads.
> Propose to clear all the finished downloads.
Possibly. One problem is it is possible to have downloads to temporary space,
clearing them will actually *delete the data* so that it is no longer
accessible. Whereas downloads to disk don't have this problem. However, you can
only add downloads to disk through fproxy. IMHO we will still need to show the
two kinds of downloads separately, and we will probably want to show finished
downloads separately to in-progress downloads.
> Propose to clear or stop the downloads one-by-one (as now).
Yes.
> Add a checkbox to all downloads, and propose and action for the selected dl
> (like in the connection to friends page).
For selective deletion? Wouldn't it be better to have a "Delete some downloads"
button or something that puts in the checkboxes? I mean in terms of UI
obviousness?
>
> ###Uploads :
>
> File :
> Field 'Path' + Button browse.
> Checkbox : upload through the browser
This is possible with javascript. Without javascript we should show both
versions, with an explanation.
>
> Insert as :
> * CHK : explain what it is
> * SSK/USK : idem
> * KSK : idem + ask for the name
Agreed, some self-documentation here is helpful, although it would make the
form take up more space.
>
> Insertion progress
>
> ##Talking :
>
> see ?insert your freesite?
>
> ##Status :
>
> ###Messages :
> as it is;
>
> ###Connections :
>
> Number of connections : X
> Friends : Y
> Strangers : Z
>
> Details :
>
> Friends details : as it is
> Strangers details : idem
>
> Add a friend : (I'm not sure wether we should have a page for that or do that
> here)
We should probably have a page under the Friends top-level menu for adding a
friend, yes. It could explain noderefs and have various options for easy
introduction that we haven't written yet.
> Your darknet ref :
>
> Don't show the opennet ref : we don't need it, do we ?
We don't show it on simple mode. We do need it for some advanced purposes,
notably becoming a seednode.
>
>
> ###Statistics :
>
> sub-menu :
>
> node related things : (JVM + node version + datastore)
> bandwith : bandwith usage + number of bits dl/ul
> misc : cpu, threads, generate thread dump, etc.
Agreed, we should split this up. But it's not important IMHO. Also, it's not a
top level menu item, and we probably *don't* want the complications of three
level menus.
>
> ##Configuration :
>
> sub-menus :
>
> one per category (+ security level);
This may make sense, although some categories are only of interest to geeks. In
which case I guess they should only show up in advanced mode...
>
> javascript could help here : we can keep in memory the changes in the
> configuration and have a global 'apply' button.
Possibly. And ask the user when they go to a different page.
>
> + plugins :
>
> this interface is just to add plugins and configure them. Plugins should
> integrate in the ui. If not, they're put in the plugins menu.
>
> So :
>
> a list of all official plugin with checkbox (already added plugins have a
> checked checkbox) + button configure (greyed if the plugin is not added).
>
> 'apply' button : all unchecked plugin are removed if they were previously
> activated, all checked plugins are added.
>
> Field add a plugin from a uri (local, web, or freenet) : parse the uri to see
> which case it is, don't let the user do that for you. + button 'add' (add the
> plugin to the list, checked)
Something like that yeah.
>
>
> I think that's all.
>
> Comments are *very* welcome of course :)
On Friday 22 May 2009 18:58:02 Ian Clarke wrote:
> This is exactly the kind of UI review we need.
>
> If nobody disagrees, I suggest that you start filing bug reports in mantis
> with specific suggestions about how to rectify each of these UI bugs.
>
> Ian.
Agreed, most of this should be filed as bugs. But the one thing on which
everything depends is sub-menus, we need to solve that soon.
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