The greyface, we hates it, precious!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:54:41 GMT

Inasmuch as this is supposed to be a beta, I'm going to make beta-testing comments. Here, until I figure out where they're actually supposed to go.

The "Notifications" page is very confusing, particularly with regard to comments being sent by email and what combinations of options I am and am not allowed to select. Some forms of notification are greyed out. At least some of those I know are because they're paid-account features I don't have access to as a non-paying user; but it's not clear that that's the reason in all cases. There is no reason given on the page. I imagine the people in charge want to avoid being too pushy about encouraging me to pay, and that's nice of them, but I'd rather be told somewhere on the page "These options are unavailable because you haven't paid" instead of just having them greyed out for no visible reason. Telling me why the option doesn't work is useful information and not a commercial intrusion; not telling me is rude.

Then it also appears impossible for me to select something to be sent ONLY by email. If I uncheck the "notify me in my inbox" box, then the email box gets greyed out. Is it the case that I'm just not allowed to receive notifications by email only? That seems gratuitous if it's the case, and it seems especially odd in light of the next item: There are a few notifications marked with an asterisk pointing at a note saying they are only available by email in the first place. But I can still check the box saying that I want them in my inbox, and indeed, I must do that in order to be able to control the box saying whether I want them by email.

My suggestion: Separate and fully independent check boxes for email and inbox notification, not for inbox and "email in addition." No greying-out ever. Check boxes for options I'm not allowed to select should not appear at all, and I should be told why. If there is a notification I might want that I'm not allowed to have, it should still appear, ungreyed but with no check boxes, and it should have a tasteful note right on the description line (not buried in an asterisk reference at the bottom) explaining why I'm not allowed to have it. For instance, a description might read "Someone votes in a poll I posted (paid-account feature)".

BONUS GRIPE: Now as I attempt to post this, the option I want to use of "Everyone (public)" in "Show this entry to:" is greyed out. Is that because I can't make public entries while DW is in beta? Is it because my choice of making "Access list" the default for new postings, means I'm actually not allowed to post public entries anymore? Who knows? Note that even if I have access to that information elsewhere, for instance in an FAQ, it's still a problem because I don't have the information right here. What I have right here is an unpleasant surprise and a reason to go away. Greying out is almost always the Wrong Thing for a system to do. If an option isn't available, I want to be told why, right then and there.

ETA: having posted that with "Access list" as the access level, I find that immediately afterward I can edit the entry and change its access to "Everyone (Public)". I think that means the grey-out during initial posting must have been a bug, because I can't see any way this behaviour would be intentional.

comments

mskala

The greyface, we hates it, precious!