The #Gnome HIG is actively watering down what once was a desktop environment made exclusively for pixel precise pointing devices (a.k.a. the mouse) to the least common denominator (a.k.a. fat fingers). Who are they designing for? Tablet users? Not professional *nix workstation users doing real work, it seems. #LinuxUsability
I beg to differ: A desktop environment should be made exclusively for the desktop. With pixel precise click targets. And double click to open things. Like it has been since the early 80s. If I wanted iOS, I'd not use a desktop environment.
@popey Well. One can't please everybody all the time. Something can either be optimized for "fat fingers" or for "pixel-precise pointing devices", but not for both. There is a reason why the Mac is not the iPad. And why Windows doesn't look like this anymore.
@probono Sure, we can't please everyone all the time. But who decided you should be the one we please?
There's far more reasons than touch for why MacOS and iPadOS have not 'merged'.
@popey It's called a "desktop environment", not a "tablet environment". Yet it cripples or does away with one desktop-y thing (icons on the desktop, double clicking, proper menus,...) after the other.
@popey@probono counterpoint: Why should you be the one we please? Everyone can have an opinion and everyone can express it. It's silly to shut them down with "well, you can't please everyone, so we should please me". That said, whoever writes the code (or funds the code) gets the final say when it comes to OSS, IMHO. Luckily, there are many options. One doesn't have to use Gnome, though it might be a little extra work (or not, there are spins of many distros for many desktop environments).
@probono I think this is mostly for discoverability (double click is weird) and accessibility (if you have only one hand usable, you can’t press all the keys at once). I think these items are desirable for a productive workstation.
@probono@gugurumbe@topher
I can 100% attest double-click is weird for me, as someone who has been using computers for over 30 years, and for all my elderly family members (including parents, aunties, etc.). I see this problem over and over again. They DO NOT get double-click (and the inconsistency it brings across UIs), AND they usually have fine motor skills challenges that makes it nearly impossible to consistently and accurately double-click.
@probono
Also, try double-clicking with a #Wacom stylus, I dare you 😏 I typically only get 25 to 50% activation success rate here, and I'm not clumsy by any means.
You couldn't invent a more "professional workstation" usecase than #DigitalArt workers. Is also designing UIs for creative professionals & #artists "actively watering down" the desktop, now?
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