Matt, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to answer that email. I'm going to live with it and accept it for now, even though I still don't like it! :) . I know we/you/whoever can't please everyone, and I completely respect the decision as you have explained it was made and appreciate that you have taken my feedback. Wordpress is a wondering piece of software, something I really do believe in. I used Geeklog for the last 3 or so years and was happy with it for a long time, but I became a Wordpress convert about 6 months ago and I haven't looked back since.
Cheers! -- "Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever..." Daniel Schoonover http://www.dangarion.com AIM : DanGarion > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:30:51 -0700 > From: Matt Mullenweg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [wp-testers] AW: Write Page > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Daniel Schoonover wrote: > > Wow that was a professional answer there... > > Sorry, my following posts expand on the points a bit more. > > > The designers screwed up on the > > write page, which was pretty much perfect the way it was. > > I don't think anyone who has done support for WP or trained other people > on its usage could claim the write page was pretty much perfect, > actually it was pretty awful. We got used to it, and comfortable with > it, but just because it was widely used doesn't mean it was right. > > > I'm sorry to > > break the bad news but the current design of the "Write Post/Page" is > > completely counter-intuitive to the user. > > Saying "I think it's counter-intuitive" is very different from saying > "users think this is counter-intuitive." To say the latter, you need a > much larger sample size than yourself or a few people on this > self-selected list. > > The first I could totally agree with, the second I wouldn't. > > > Who's idea was it to waste the space that used to be for Category > selections > > with > > Whitespace is not wasted space. Filling every possible centimeter with > stuff does not make it better, creates a lot of cognitive load, and is > frustrating even for savvy users. > > There is lots of research on this: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_theory > > For example, people, especially unsophisticated consumers, tend to buy > products with more buttons because they're perceived to be better, but > their tested happiness with said products is lower over time. They would > have been better off and happier getting the less complex thing, even > though they would swear to the grave they bought the right stereo. > > I have never claimed to be an expert on any of this, but I know enough > to know what I don't know, and hopefully enough to be able to find > someone who can do a much better job. This is the basis of my whole > adult life, actually. > > > I mean if I'm in the write post section why would I even be thinking > about > > managing any of those things? My current thoughts are on making a POST, > > thus I want to see the options and selections for making the post, why > make > > the user have to scroll to make these selections when you have this > whole > > sidebar area on the right that could be utilized for efficiency? > > Assumptions here: > > 1. Because I don't think about those things, no one else things about > those things. > 2. The space could be more efficiency used by something else, for > example categories. > 3. Things in the sidebar are more noticed than things in the main column. > > I would like to note as one of the people behind the previous layout of > the WP write page, there was a time when I would have agreed with those > assumptions completely. My mind has been changed. > > Some of my assumptions now are that: > > 1. Categories, particularly the new layout, need more horizontal space > than is available in the sidebar. When we add things like "suggested > categories" this will become more obvious. > 2. Things like tags are more commonly used than categories, and we can't > squeeze those in the sidebar too. > 3. Things in the sidebar get missed unless you know to look there, even > when they're above the "fold" and you don't have to scroll to see them. > 4. The stuff in the sidebar now -- saving, previewing, status, > timestamps -- are the most important things to put there. > > > Just > > because it's open source doesn't mean you have to make it like pulling > > teeth. > > As someone who got 5 teeth pulled on Monday, I take offense at that. :) > > > We are your users, we are your testers, and we are trying to help > > you develop this to be user friendly, and the current horizontal design > is > > not user friendly. > > Which is the whole reason we solicit feedback, to have as much > information, even if it's anecdotal, to synthesize and make the best > decisions possible, which I believe we are doing there, but by > suggesting what you think is what everyone thinks you're forcing me to > take a position of disagreeing with you, when I would rather just > collate your feedback with all the others and try to make the best > decision possible. > > > In fact I haven't seen a single post praising the design > > of the page we are discussing, all I have read are suggestions for > improving > > it. > > Mistakes can and will be changed, like the CTRL+V popup in the WYSIWYG, > which slipped into RC2 but is gone now. > > I've read all the emails to the aforementioned feedback address, the > 750+ pingbacks (not all in English, granted) to the announcement posts, > all the media coverage, and been involved with the process of this > particular design for the better part of a year. > > If you want I could link you to thirty blogs praising the new design, > but that doesn't make either of us right or wrong and someone would > inevitable accuse myself or the dev team of drinking our own kool-aid, > only paying attention to the positive press, or surrounding ourselves > with yes men and fanboys. Some people might disagree or not understand > individual decisions, but have faith based on our previous track record > that the decisions are for the best. > > In reality I tend to read the criticism more carefully than the praise, > because it often has more nuggets of possible changes. But that doesn't > mean I'm going to agree with it all. > > -- > Matt Mullenweg > http://ma.tt | http://automattic.com > > > _______________________________________________ wp-testers mailing list [email protected] http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-testers
