On 10/4/07, Jack Repenning <jrepenning@collab.net> wrote:
> On Oct 4, 2007, at 11:40 AM, Erik Huelsmann wrote:
>
> > Don't you think the reverse is true? 1.5 is compatible with 1.4,
> > unless you use some specific features not many users use anyway?
> > (Though maybe they'll start using them now that they're safe to be
> > used...)
>
>
> What I think is that "unless" is death on steroids.
>
> >> you as well, and no there's no safe way to check whether you have
> >> just in case you're wondering, and yes I'd be happy to explain that
> >> 'depth' stuff for you one more time, and yes it's likely that you'll
> >
> > But if they don't know what it is, they can't really be using it
> > anyway, now can they, or am I wrong here?
>
> Your confidence in the sanity, care, and comprehension of The User is
> honorable, but sadly unrealistic. Anything that can go wrong will,
> and most of the other stuff as well. Nothing is idiot-proof, there's
> always a bigger idiot.
>
> Less humorously: particularly when we pass into the GUI world (as,
> e.g., Mark's Subclipse), and especially when we pass well out of the
> developer world (as in, e.g., my SCPlugin), we get a whole different
> class of users, with a whole different set of concerns, and
> remembering all these details of the VC system abstraction just is
> not high on their list.
>
> Do they use it? Sure: it's in the help note, or there's a button, so
> they try it out. Do the even notice, much less comprehend, the
> outcome? Strikingly unlikely, in this particular case.
But those users are not as likely to have a problem either. An
SCPlugin users sees this Depth setting and says "What the heck" let me
try that. OK, no problem so far. They would have to have another
client running 1.4 to hit the problem. Perhaps they are using
Subclipse with an old version. So now they have a problem. They are
not in that bad of shape, they have options etc. I personally do not
buy the argument that they cannot figure this out. More importantly,
with an absolute format bump this same user will run into this exact
same problem simply by trying SCPlugin. Perhaps even by opening their
Finder window. I argue that is infinitely worse.
--
Thanks
Mark Phippard
http://markphip.blogspot.com/
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Received on Thu Oct 4 20:54:54 2007