jes!

ease of use devours the soul!  

i want software i use to feel like my mom’s iron pan. the pan requires skill, care, and understanding. it says “if you learn to use me, i’ll serve you forever. but you have to care.”

the opposite is something like an air fryer. it’s immediately easy to use, but it can never feel as real and human as an iron pan.

i want my tools to require _effort_ from me. i want to have to invest in them a little. otherwise they feel like ghosts.

Oct 15, 2023 at 4:11pmWeb
Show threadjes!Oct 15, 2023
optimizing for ease of use is often consumeristic. the end result is single-use plastic cartridges and disposable appliances.
Show threadJulianoëOct 15, 2023
@j3s and opaque data-hoarding apps for the digital side of things
Show threadSun Microdevil Pte LtdOct 15, 2023

@j3s > if you learn to use me
Thing is that most modern software almost feels like it's actively hostile to any notion of learning it thanks to constant churn... it doesn't respect your investment in learning it, so to say...

Even the average airfryer is much better than software; at least it doesn't pull the rug out after you learned how to operate it 

Show threadjes!Oct 15, 2023
@koakuma very true. and the interface doesn’t change all the time, forcing people to relearn constantly
Show threadrequiem 🦫Oct 16, 2023

@j3s there was once a delineation between consumer and professional software. Consumer tools (Word, iMovie, ) are great if you need to use them quickly and infrequently. Pro tools (Avid, the old versions of Autocad, etc.) have steeper learning curves but reward the effort with speed and productivity.

I’m not sure exactly what killed these tools, maybe the attitude that there must be a singular product that rules over all others. Some people equate this to “the strongest survives “ but in practice it results in absolute mediocrity.

Show threadpenguin42Oct 17, 2023
@j3s Here, have 'vi' - I've used it for over 30 years. Give it a wipe out after any particularly hard editing.
Show threadratfactorOct 17, 2023
@j3s This is such a great point about utility. People joke about regexps, but learning them thoroughly has paid for itself more than anything else I've ever learned on computers.
Show threadjes!Oct 17, 2023
@ratfactor same. i remember when i learned regular expressions, it was one of the first times i realized that "programming concepts" were within my reach.
Show threadOrnella 🍉Oct 18, 2023
@j3s funny, I relate but disagree. IMO difficulty of use should be reserved to the things you actually want to spend time and effort on. The average restaurant owner wants to put their menu online, not learn to build websites... Also IMO the risk is that if you invest a lot of time in a tool, you start to use that tool for everything instead of learning others that are better suited - you might end up cooking rice in your skillet, bc you've never learned to use a pot or pressure cooker. Ya know?
Show threadSu-SheeOct 18, 2023
@being @j3s "oh I want my household items to require more effort so that I can feel even more human" - no women doing all the chores and cooking and handling of heavy iron pans, ever. a short reminder that "ease of use" has a serious history of safety and liberation and this is really a luxury position to say "I want my software to require more effort" meanwhile excel made it possible for regular people to do very advanced business stuff. I want super smooth stuff that I can DO things with it
Show threadOrnella 🍉Oct 18, 2023
@sushee @j3s i agree with you on principle! Re: the first sentence, I'm sure some women are attached to their heavy cast iron skillet - I know some women who insist on using an African broom instead of a vacuum cleaner, because it's more effective at getting into corners + most of all, it's what they're used to. But yeah 100%, ease of use is about making things more accessible, and people freer to spend time and effort how they actually want.
Show threadjes!Oct 18, 2023

@sushee @being thx for pointing this out. i recognize how ease of use is tied to accessibility, and making things more accessible is a good thing.

for example, tiktok has made it opened up whole worlds of creativity to people who never would have made videos otherwise. i think that more people being creative is good - lowering the accessibility barrier is important & helps with inclusivity. there are many other problems with tiktok, but there’s value too.

Show threadjes!Oct 18, 2023

@sushee @being the funny thing is, i care a lot about ease of use for the software i use.

i think im chiefly against optimizing for ease of use _always_. i like kneading dough by hand, chopping with a knife, cutting wood with an axe - especially around other people. the activity helps create a sort of warmth and connection i can’t squeeze out of a breadmaker, or a woodsplitter

that’s the idea i’m trying to convey, but about software. it’s not fully formed.

Show threadjes!Oct 18, 2023

@sushee @being and i’m sorry if it came off as “everyone should always do everything the hard way” - that is very much not what i believe.

i want my acts of software creation to feel like knitting my friend a sweater, not industrially pressing a sweater from a mold. that’s the sort of “soul” or “realness” i’m getting at.

Show threadOrnella 🍉Oct 18, 2023
@j3s @sushee I appreciate you clarifying and I totally relate esp. with the metaphor of making bread by hand vs. using a breadmaker. It's the act of craftsmanship, really. Makes me think of the IKEA model and how even with industrially-produced furniture, we feel more attachment to the things we had to put together ourselves (even if it's 5% of the work)
Show threadjes!Oct 18, 2023
@being @sushee that’s funny, i never thought about that part of ikea’s business model but it makes total sense, thank you for that imagery!
Show threadSu-SheeOct 18, 2023
@j3s marx points out precisely that as a mark of capitalism the disenfranchised worker, disconnected from the whole etc. at the same time though thoreau got food delivered from mom while praising the simplicity of life in the woods
Show threadSu-SheeOct 18, 2023
@j3s @being Oh I got you - I'm mainly pointing out that being able to have the time and aquire the skill to knit a sweater, bake a bread etc is a question of privilege because you don't have to. your bread and your sweater isn't a necessity you have to perform cheap and fast to eg feed and cloth a family. you aren't a maid who has to make a living on the our romanticized notion of scrubbing wooden floors on our knees with handmade soap so we can afford to view this as a craft and labour of love
Show threadjes!Oct 18, 2023
@sushee @being thanks for pointing that out, i wonder if the term “luxury simplicity” makes sense, it reminds me of millionaires who have the time/budget/life exp to travel the world, but treat the travel as a romanticized adventure & not an enormous privilege. thx for helping ground me, lots to think about.
Show threadwompusOct 18, 2023
@j3s @sushee It might be as simple as "respect the user's intelligence" when designing a tool, whether it's a power tool or a time-saving/accessibility tool
Show threadAlan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏Oct 18, 2023
@j3s You made me dig up this old post and republish it https://ambitonline.com/nextrelease/2023/10/an-argument-for-complex-user-interfaces/