Configuration File Change: Old Man Mindset

Binary package hint: upgrade-system

A lot of amazing progress has been made with Ubuntu. However, Bill Gates has nothing yet to fear. Here's an example of the "mindset" developers still have that exemplifies the reason why.

During the upgrade process from 7.04 to 7.10 (smooth, by the way), a little window appears that reads, "Configuration File Change". The content says something like:

"Replace the customized configuration file '/etc/default/apache2'? You will lose any changes you have made to this configuration file if you choose to replace it with a newer version."

Consider my Canadian piano teacher. He's 86 and uses a Mac (OS X) for e-mail, web browsing, and video conferencing with his friends down in the States somewhere. He doesn't know what apache2 is. He doesn't know about an "/etc" directory. He does understand that to "lose any changes" is a bad thing.

So he clicks "Show Difference" and what does he see? Garbly gook. 22:13:18.000000000000 -0700 +++ ath0^NO CARRIER would be just about as meaningful to him. Hell, I've been using diff tools for years and I can hardly read them. I much prefer the fancy side-by-side scrolling displays of modern diff tools. But cramped up inside of a teeeeny tiny little window (with no visible indicators of resizing; but that could just be my theme settings; but resize the window anyway and watch what happens when it next appears ... ungh), there's just no way either of us are going to make heads or tails of the content.

But it doesn't matter.

Advanced users need to know this. Power users need to know this. My piano teacher ... well, he doesn't really need to know this. My teacher is a brilliant pianist. He's smart, witty, charismatic, and a computer newbie. He will never be able to use Ubuntu at this rate.

Okay, griping over. Here's how to fix it.

When performing installations immediately give the user three choices:

Easy (i.e., Just Do It)
Medium (i.e., Just Do It, but let me watch)
Advanced (i.e., Give Me Teh Powerz)

If they select Easy (the default option), then just "do the right thing". This means making a backup of files that are about to be changed, and subsequently change them without pestering the user. This means automatically partitioning the drive in an intelligent fashion (/, /home, swap, /tmp, and maybe /usr or /opt). It means not posing questions like "Replace the customized configuration file '/etc/default/apache2'?"

If you guys and gals can make an installer that is so simple even my piano teacher can use it, then even a piano teacher will use it. And so will gradeschool teachers. And dance teachers. And English majors. And stay-at-home parents. And cheerleaders. And football players.

Remember: this is just an example. These things are everywhere and it stems from a specific mindset. This mindset has to change. When prompting the user for something, ask yourself: "Would this confuse Dave's piano teacher?" If the answer is "Yes" then ask yourself, "Can it be simplified by providing default options?" If the answer is "Yes" then ask the user if they want the task to "just be done" or whether they want to look at it first, or whether they want to do it the advanced way.

Ideally, there would be some sort of "global" setting that indicates their comfort level with technical minutia. (Note that the term "technical minutia" is not something that should be presented to the user!) This setting can then be queried by applications to gauge how much interactivity and how much information should be given to the user.

Installers, today, are my biggest gripe. ;-)

99% of the time, when I'm installing software on Windows, I click "Next", "I Agree", "Next, Next, Next, Next, Finish." I would rather click, "I Agree" then "Just Do It" and be done with it. See the difference? It's not just in the number of clicks, but it is in the mindset of the developer.

Keep up the great work, you're definitely on the right road.