On 8 Aug 2006, at 4:46 PM, Gary Kirk wrote:
I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how it
is hard to
use...sure, tables might be a little difficult, and having images
how you want them too, but for simple editing it really isn't,
especially with the edit bar.
I'm not surprised that you don't understand Gary. Part of my job is
system admin and support. The system admin part means that I
understand a reasonable amount about how computers work. The support
part means that I understand a reasonable amount about how people
work when they're confronted with computer systems.
One thing I've noticed is that people who work a lot with computers
can become impatient and unsympathetic towards people who don't. They
can also tend to forget what it took to learn what they know. I've
also noticed that they can develop an attitude of "well this is just
the way computers work, I learnt to use it so so can you." My
attitude is that computers should be tailored to work with human
beings, not the other way around.
People who have lives that don't revolve around the internet or
computers generally don't have the time or inclination to learn wiki
markup, and they certainly don't have the time to relearn it every
time they want to use it, which is what happens. Wiki markup is not
like riding a bike. It's easily forgotten. To say it's "hard" is a
misnomer. The main problem is that it's time consuming.
In my office I am presented with the argument from people that they
have enough things to learn and keep up with with regard to our
computers systems without having to learn another language. And, the
answer is (and should be) they don't have to. And they won't have to.
When Apple releases their new Server OS, we'll install it and they
can forget all about wiki markup and start participating in the
production of content ... which is the whole point.
Christiaan