[TYPO3-hci] BE vs FE

[Waldemar Kornewald]

On 8/2/06, JoH <info at cybercraft.de> wrote:
> >> It seems you don't want to understand, that there might be people
> >> who don't think restriction is the way to go.
> >> I prefer freedom of choice, which is such a completely different
> >> concept that we should stop the discussion about that specific issue
> >> here.
> >
> > "Freedom of choice" sounds very nice, but it's not practical if you
> > want to have a *simple* interface. But you're right it doesn't make
> > any sense to discuss usability with you. You seem to think that
> > usability means having more features and customizability.
>
> Wrong! - Usability means "ease of use".
> And since there is not "the one and only easy way" to do things it's a good
> idea to have different concepts and let the user decide which one he finds
> "easy".
> So you can have your simple interface, while I can still use my power user
> version.

You're reversing the meaning of usability. Of course, it's ease of
use, but nothing will be easier to use if you add more buttons and
concepts. Well, anyway...see below.

> The only thing that should be improved in this case, is the way you can
> enable or disable those different concepts.
> If this could be done with just one click on the appropriate system
> extension, it would be the best usability you could get.

I fully agree that it should be very easy to switch between "advanced"
and "simple" mode.
In "simple" mode is must be as easy as possible to create pages,
content, and news. For example, if some page contains the "news"
module (or plugin?) there should automatically be the option to create
a news item for that page without having to enter "List View".
Also, creating a page shouldn't be a multi-step procedure in "editor"
mode. You should click "Add Page" and only get a dialog with
(basically) "Title" and "Content" so you can start entering content,
immediately. Add "advanced" mode for more complex tasks (e.g.: when
you want more than just a text record on your page or when you need to
set special properties).

Two modes are sufficient to make everyone happy and admins wouldn't
have to customize special stripped-down interfaces, anymore (apart
from restricting access to modules).

> Well - I don't have a problem with adapting my habits too.
> But I don't see a reason, why I should be forced to adapt my habits just
> because you find my way of doing things too complicated.
> If you think your approach is the better one, create an extension that does
> exactly what you want, put it into the TER and see how many people will be
> using it.
> If it's really better, maybe I will use it too ...

I'd really love if the official TYPO3 team worked on this, so I have
enough free time to create a skin for our website. :)

> > Why do you not agree with this?
>
> Because there is nothing that can be done without training.

I don't know the word "impossible"! ;)
Very simple tasks *should* be doable without training. What makes you
believe otherwise?

> Maybe they don't need hours of training, since your colleagues are more
> experienced than the usual newbie editor, but if you refuse to invest at
> least a small amount of time to learn something you have never done before,
> you are definitely on the wrong track and it simply doesn't make sense to
> discuss this any further.

I'd have to explain the CMS, no matter which one we choose. That's
right. But we can really make this as simple as explaining the basic
idea behind the CMS instead of writing how-tos for "news items" and
"page creation".

Why can nobody explain what is wrong with my "unify BE and FE users"
suggestion? And if nothing is wrong with it, why are you so reluctant
to change this?

Bye,
Waldemar Kornewald