[Sigia-l] "Who Really Turns Off JavaScript?"

[Alexander Johannesen]

Hola!

On 11/17/05, derekrogerson <derekrogerson at gmail.com> wrote:
> Awareness of the technology and implementation issues does, for most
> people, severely cripple their conceptual creativity simply because they
> become technically aware, think technically, and have a grasp of
> technical limitations. In short, they become designers and thereafter
> are obsessed with the material aspects of things.

Nah, can't agree with that; seeing one technical constraint does not
*stop* creativity, it simply forces us to route around it, which
design is very much about. But you're right that we're not all created
equal.

> It is safe to say that the user does not know how certain things
> 'technically' work neither do they care at all about the material used.

It's safe to say that it's pretty unsafe to say "it's safe to say." :)
For example, I'm sure a lot of geeks can glance at a geeky website for
a few seconds and have a perfectly good understanding of what
technically is going on. They might even care.

> So indeed you have to look at and understand the user's field-of-view --
> the surest way of understanding anything meant for them -- and to do
> this one must walk in the user's shoes from the beginning.

Understanding the user is fine. Understanding technical issues are
fine, too. It's a balance act. Like so much else. I think that is the
dispute; can we decouple us from the technical side of things and
*still* do good UAX? I don't think so, but then, my technical
abilities have never stood in the way of my creativity, in fact, I'm
inclined to say, it has boosted it, made me a better usabilly because
of it. But that's just me.


Alex
--
"Ultimately, all things are known because you want to believe you know."
                                                         - Frank Herbert
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