On 12/13/06, Jorge G. Mare (a.k.a. Koki) <koki@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It is not so much the number of features that make for complexity, but
more the way the system exposes those features to the user. You can have
the features needed by a wide range of users and do so in a way that is
not complex or difficult to use. That's what Haiku should strive for,
IMHO.
I agree, but it's also not as simple as your email makes it sound (it
could get misunderstood).Of course, we can have advanced features and
try to make them less disturbing for non-technical users, but at some
level you can't effectively hide them without disturbing normal users.
Before adding a new feature, we need to make sure that it's actually
useful:
* Is it useful for the application's *target audience* or only for a
small minority (maybe only you)?
* How much UI complexity does it add?
* Does it make you more productive or do you get any real advantage
with this feature (apart from having yet another function to choose
from)?
* Does the feature get in the way of other users and how big is the impact?
* Does a similar feature already exist and is it doing a better job?
* Can another feature be generalized such that it allows for both
functions without increasing complexity too much?
It's difficult to identify "bad" features, but it's worth the effort
and we must to learn to say "no" in that case.
