Comments on Second Tense: Fix the INTERFACE! How a Noob Sees Second Life

I don't mind giving Iran the finger. *chuckles...

2010-12-06T10:39:18.323-05:00

I don't mind giving Iran the finger. *chuckles*

On a serious note, there will always be language translations, however, the use of symbols minimizes it.

Ah, so as long as you don't mind giving all of...

2010-12-06T09:49:00.874-05:00

Ah, so as long as you don't mind giving all of your customers from between three and twelve cultures the finger, the symbol is just peachy.

Maaaahhhvelous... :)

No, I chose that partly as bait. Thumbs-up is a g...

2010-12-06T09:20:18.365-05:00

No, I chose that partly as bait.

Thumbs-up is a great example of something that used to be rude but in most modern places has become acceptable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumbs_Signal

"Other things are blindingly obvious and near...

2010-12-06T09:13:21.442-05:00

"Other things are blindingly obvious and nearly universal, like the thumbs-up."

Did you pick that example to be ironic? :) I believe that in Islamic and some Asian cultures, the "thumbs up" gesture is QUITE rude, obscene, and insulting.

Another good example of my point, really. What is "blindingly obvious" to you may be something entirely

If you use a trackball, you've used a mouse fi...

2010-12-05T23:39:03.633-05:00

If you use a trackball, you've used a mouse first.

There are certainly some things that may not be obvious, but who can be learned with as much ease as the words are. Other things are blindingly obvious and nearly universal, like the thumbs-up.

I b'leve Cube meant to suggest that if a user ...

2010-12-05T23:08:17.106-05:00

I b'leve Cube meant to suggest that if a user uses a touchpad or a trackball, then a picture of a mouse may not be "far more intuitive" than some words...

I suspect a key point here is that *nothing* is going to be blindingly obvious to everyone, and it's more important to make the interface easily learnable than it is to make it obvious at first glance.

@c3: What about it? Whether they're icons or ...

2010-12-05T21:25:54.189-05:00

@c3:

What about it? Whether they're icons or text, how does having a trackball or mousepad on a laptop change anything? They're both frickin' impossible to use with any degree of use.

Language uses a different part of the brain than symbols. And I think you're thinking too much like an Aspie, here. Body language is far, far more important to an infact than

yeah..? what if i use a mousepad on a laptop, or a...

2010-12-05T20:17:16.047-05:00

yeah..? what if i use a mousepad on a laptop, or a kensington turbo trackball?

icons vs text interface are for financial reasons in the real developers world.....

language is learned by any normal infant in a culture since ITS the symbology used PRIMARILY by the parent.

symbols dont predate language, their usage IS language.

@Gaga: "m" for mouselook. @c3: "....

2010-11-28T15:58:14.445-05:00

@Gaga: "m" for mouselook.

@c3:
"... for all of those trained to use that language."
There's your first problem.

"the reason ICONS exist..."
is because they are a continuation of symbols, which are far more ancient than any language. I'm sorry, but an icon showing a mouse with the left-button highlight is far more

" but there's a reason we used symbols on...

2010-11-28T15:54:32.061-05:00

" but there's a reason we used symbols on signs and interfaces - they work better than plain text."

actually they dont. "plain text" used well works better as non intrusive interface for all of those trained to use that language.

the reason ICONS exist is to "standardize" space/layouts and not have to deal with localization -language issues

lol, damit. I would go even further! No bottom ic...

2010-11-28T10:25:35.025-05:00

lol, damit. I would go even further!

No bottom icons or chat bar either. Simply typing something would open the chat window where I fixed it and the size I fixed it at, and hitting Esc would close it. I would open function Icons with keywords or hot keys too. Anything to un-clutter my view of the world!

It's a 3D world. It's my world. If I want to look at roses in my

I agree with pretty much every thing you wrote, Hi...

2010-11-28T10:09:14.123-05:00

I agree with pretty much every thing you wrote, Hiro. I am all for the minimalist approach to the viewer and I have posted about it on LL forums and elsewhere. But, I would go further and colapse the address bar at the top too. I want to see my world and not the left-overs from the age of 2D browsers fixed in my face.

I want total control of what is in my face!

Gaga Gracious

@all: Thanks for the comments @Dale: Realize I m...

2010-11-22T15:40:57.478-05:00

@all: Thanks for the comments

@Dale:

Realize I mocked this up in about 15 minutes. My former Creative Director was better at making universally recognizable icons than I was. I'm certainly open to suggestions to alternatives, but there's a reason we used symbols on signs and interfaces - they work better than plain text.

Ultimately, the reduced interface

This is one reason interface design is hard: what&...

2010-11-22T15:35:40.245-05:00

This is one reason interface design is hard: what's 'obvious' to the designer isn't necessarily obvious to any given user.

I'd assumed the smiley-face was the Friends List, not Gestures. And the picture of the (mic-less) headphones just confused me, because it looked like it should be maybe volume, but the universal symbol for volume control is right there next

nice to see criticism backed up with proposed impr...

2010-11-22T12:42:53.407-05:00

nice to see criticism backed up with proposed improvments

F adored

I started using Second Life in 2005. The interface...

2010-11-20T19:52:08.632-05:00

I started using Second Life in 2005. The interface was the thing that seemed like it needed the most work. Over the years I saw they spent their effort on Mono, embedded web pages, changing from blue to gray, lighting effects, better wind, fancier primitives, and lots of other things. But the interface is still essentially the same. I gave up on Second Life when I realized the interface wasn'

Google Chrome (the web browser) doesn't come w...

2010-11-20T01:07:03.227-05:00

Google Chrome (the web browser) doesn't come with a bookmarks/favorites button at the top. If you want one, you have to install an "extension."

As far as I know, SL doesn't have an extensions architecture. You can't just go grab extra add-on functionality and hook it on.

Firefox calls them "add-ons."

Drupal has "modules"

I doubt it's possible to educate someone that&...

2010-11-19T23:35:44.121-05:00

I doubt it's possible to educate someone that's convinced they're right and you/we dont know anything {Linden Lab}

too bad they couldnt even get the "webpage ba...

2010-11-19T17:12:25.065-05:00

too bad they couldnt even get the "webpage bar" correct.

it got 4-5 functions!?, plus its clickable and the best/worst way to get world info.

IE and firefox conflict- and none of its any standard---

that "side tab" looks awful silly and lonesome....;)

yada yada. maybe the new "creative director" will tkae notice....;)