Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
I see people railing at the affront of #libre software that they find 'hard to use' and how that's elitist and shouldn't be the case. That it's the software designers' or developers' fault.
The #libre software world certainly needs more good designers, accessibility, & UX people, but they seem rare. Unlike those design-focused people, who require software devs to realise any sort of functioning app, devs can throw together an interface that *they* can use without too much trouble... 1/n
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
The bottom line is that many people, who generally come from using almost entirely proprietary software & the constant reinforcement that the software they're using is 'user friendly' (even though it's generally not) which gives the users an expectation of access that's simply not valid (nor is it really desirable) with a lot of #libre sw. That said, there's quite a lot of libre sw that's head of class with regard of usability... what it's not is *marketed*. Because there's no $ extracted. 4/n
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
... In many cases, these domains require very specialised, *accurate* mental models of their users, because the domain is just complex. They can be only a simple as possible... but no simpler. Many #BigTech apps make things 'too simple', glossing over technical complexities & user conceptual competence, which is why we have computer viruses & malware among other issues plaguing modern computer users. It's also why many fear computers: their mental models are invalid, offering no guidance. 3/n
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
... but they might not be very sophisticated in terms of UX or accessibility... because that's not part of the skill set of the people who put it together. That's just the way it is. I can't think of any #libre sw communities who wouldn't *love* some good designers/accessibility/UX people to join them.
Another issue is that libre sw makes it possible for non-specialists to get access to very specialised apps from esoteric domains they'd never use if not libre... 2/n
Randulo.com
@lightweight I always think of the GIMP as a good example of the problem. Over the years I tried it, and I could never get it to do simple things, and to this day I prefer paying for software that's easy to use, does everything I need and looks good.
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo easy to use or familiar? People usually get trained on Adobe products, so they turn their noses up that things that behave differently because they're unfamiliar. They not worse, just different. I think the Gimp's a great example of that.
Randulo.com
@lightweight Isn't it also a factor that they're often multi platform and that can be a time sink, making things work the same on all OS, especially mobile apps.
It would be wonderful if usability people and designers would be available to #libre devs.
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo that certainly amplifies the complexity immensely.
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo also, graphics is exactly the sort of specialised situation I was describing - few people 'get' graphics & what's actually going on. Few have a valid mental model, or even understand what most of the stuff in a graphics package is doing. Adobe spends a small amount of its massive extracted profits to educate people on *their proprietary way* so that the model taught is intrinsically tied to the Adobe product, not the underlying concept. It locks people into proprietary very effectively.
Randulo.com
@lightweight I agree 100% with that. My experience is totally anecdotal and subjective, and although I learned and use many languages, I am a horrible coder. Still, I get the difficulty of doing certain things that people complain about, especially with regard to mobile apps. As for Adobe, I had to go spit three times in the street when I saw the name. 😂
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo I've never used an Adobe product (on principle) however, I did run a software dev shop for 14 years that used Gimp & Inkscape for graphic design (raster & vector) exclusively. Never lost a job because of that (& had some very enthusiastic designers who avoided the Adobe tax).
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo if it's proprietary, the price will go up or the quality down (or the software will go away entirely). Only libre software won't screw you eventually. If you're not familiar with Doctorow's recently described 'enshittification cycle', it's most illustrative.
Randulo.com
@lightweight Again, I don't disagree with anything you've said so far, but what I do is use what works for me. If I have to pay $30, I might. If I have to pay $129 a year, no!
Randulo.com
@lightweight Most of the early days, I had no experience with graphics software, so I didn't have any basis for comparison. There is free software out there now that is world class and usable, but if #libre is the same as #foss, it's not open source; I think the plan is to upsell later, keeping a free tier.
Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿
@randulo yes, 'free' proprietary software, as in 'lock you in and upsell you later', is a common tactic & involves a LOT of up-front investment, funded by Venture Capitalists... Here's why that's a false economy: https://davelane.nz/why-free-proprietary-software-will-always-end-tears
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