[TYPO3-hci] Open Source usability sucks?

[Silke Arend]

> http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~daven/docs/oss-wp.html
> 
> Back then, I didn't relate very well to it. Today, I re-read it and  
> found that it outlined many truths about our situation.
> 
> What do the rest of you think?
> 
> 
> - kasper


For weeks now, I was wondering about one thing, that might have been discussed somewhere else already (yet I have not found anything). Reading the article it came up again:

Is there a precise definition of what our target groups are?

I know, we are looking at administrators, editors...

What I mean: is Typo3 trying to be a CMS for everybody's use - in a do-it-yourself fashion? Or is the image we want to build - or keep ;-)  one of being a powerful tool for professionals?

IMHO this is a basic question to which the answer needs to be clear to everyone envolved in working on Typo3 (maybe it is - besides myself?). There is no single best solution in terms of usablity!! If we try intensely to care about the needs of beginners (not only in Typo3 but in computing alltogether) we will loose some kind of usability or at least ability for professionals.

As far as I am concerned, there are too many programs out there already, that at least annoy people who are on an intermediate or high skill level. Saying this I have in mind, that we are not talking about a word processor or something simillar that basically everbody in our culture needs. Many average people do not have a website of their own. And those who do often don't need to bother with a CMS, because of the size and simplicity of their website (and the attractive prizes of cheap providers).

There are other effects which I will not mention now, before knowing that this topic is of interest to you people at all.

Looking forward to your answers

Silke