On 3/18/15 9:01 AM, Patrick Brunschwig wrote:
I should add that one of the outcome if the usability study we had last year showed that this is an important function and that such a button was missing -
Was that study published anywhere? If not, can you make it available? I would love to know what the arguments were that lead to this conclusion.
especially for beginners who don't want/need to know Enigmail and the concepts of public key encryption well.
As I said to Daniel, I'm not sure that you're drawing a line for "not knowing the concepts well" that is going to lead these theoretical new users down a path that will lead to success.
I am all for making tools easier, and giving users better documentation, etc. But there is a certain amount of fundamental knowledge that users need to have in order to do this. Trying to substitute smarter tools for better user education is not only not going to succeed, it's likely to fail in spectacular ways.
To summarize this discussion: there is often a trade-off between usability and other aspects in a system (space, transparency, configuration, etc.). I strongly believe - and many agree on this - that we need to improve usability, even if it's at the cost of other aspects).
Again, I'm not arguing against that general principle. I'm arguing against some of the specific steps that you've taken.
I'm not so worried about the users we have as they seem to live quite OK with what we had. I'm much more concerned about the users we don't have yet, or that we lost because Enigmail was too difficult or not intuitive enough.
"Intuitive" is a dangerous word in the UI design world. There is nothing which is truly "intuitive" about computers, or their user interfaces. What most people mean when they refer to that word re UI design is "It looks/works like something I have used before."
The problem when it comes to cryptography is that we have no analogs for it in other disciplines. It's a unique beast, with its own rules, own vocabulary, and its own challenging concepts to master. You can't make enigmail "intuitive," ever. It's a fool's errand.
Encryption only matters if can be applied by the masses.
But that's never going to happen. "The masses" don't care, and never will. In fact, I've spoken to people who have said they would NEVER encrypt ANYTHING because they don't want people to think that they have something to hide. When I explain to them how https works and why they don't want their credit card number going to amazon in the clear they hem and haw about that sort of thing being an exception to the rule.
And please note, I desperately wish I was wrong about this. I've been pushing the cause of mass encryption for almost 20 years now. There simply is no demand for it.
... and please note, I'm *not* saying that we should make the tools for experts only. I agree that we should make them easier to use, and over the years I've suggested several features for enigmail in just that regard (such as opportunistic encryption).
As today's screens get larger and larger,
Sorry, you're off base again here. More and more "computing" is pushing to small screens, tablets, phablets, and phones. A lot of experts think that we're approaching the tipping point in less than 5 years. Thunderbird and Enigmail become more anachronistic every day. The whole philosophy that taking up more space on the screen is Ok is wrong.
I don't believe that we waste a lot of real estate on the screen, given how much more intuitive the new buttons are compared to the old version. Whether or not you like (some of) the new buttons and the toolbar as such is first of all a matter of taste. I think the new version is a lot better than the old one, and I would not want to go back to the old layout.
Please understand that "going back to the old layout" is not what I'm suggesting at all. Here's what I am:
1. Tidy up the new "encrypted" and "signed" icons so that they are not fuzzy, and match the existing style better.
2. Move those 2 new icons up to the Composition toolbar. That way you get the new icons, and the new and improved status indications that they provide, "for free," with no additional screen real estate consumed.
3. The new enigmail toolbar should contain only the text indicator if the message is signed and/or encrypted. It should also be narrower, off by default, and provided as an option in the enigmail advanced preferences menu.
4. I would also argue that the status in the enigmail toolbar should show both signing and encrypting status, ala, "This message will/will not be signed, and will/will not be encrypted" For the Circumvention crowd knowing the state of both properties is critical, and the fact that the "alarm bells" go away when the message is merely signed could be disastrous.
You'll notice that there is no default "attach my key" button in my proposal. :) Providing that as an optional button that can be added to either toolbar is an excellent middle step for those that find the existing two options too difficult, or too confusing.
hope this helps, Doug -- I am conducting an experiment in the efficacy of PGP/MIME signatures. This message should be signed. If it is not, or the signature does not validate, please let me know how you received this message (direct, or to a list) and the mail software you use. Thanks!
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