[WikiEN-l] Fromowner

[James Farrar]

On 05/09/07, Oskar Sigvardsson <oskarsigvardsson at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/5/07, James Farrar <james.farrar at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Design, in the "ooh! it looks nice" sense, is utterly irrelevant to
> usability.
>
> This is the traditional geek-response, and for geeks this is generally
> true, but for regular folks it's just silly. People like using a good
> looking system!

Do we have any evidence that Wikipedia fails this test?

> Even if a system is really usable, if it is also
> really well-designed it is much more pleasant to use, and you can do
> it for a longer time. These kinds of responses ("Design is so gay! I
> like CLIs!") are really unhelpful and completely untrue.

A straw man of the highest order.

> > But, fine! If the WMF wants headlines of WIKIPEDIA SPENDS $500,000 ON
> > NEW DESIGN, it can have them.
>
> Yes, that's exactly what I was saying! Precisely that! </sarcasm>
>
> Honestly, it baffles me how people can think that the public face of
> wikipedia is unimportant. We spend War and Peace sized novels
> discussing the tiniest bit of minutiae in policy, but when it comes to
> things normal people (non-wikipedians) *actually* care about, we're
> flippant saying "Who cares?"
>
> This stuff is important to wikipedia, whether or not it's important to
> you! Sticking our heads in the sand does not help.

I think you over-estimate the general public's wants.

I'm simply opposed to change for change's sake -- especially if it costs money.