[Scribus] Why do?

[BandiPat]

Louis Desjardins wrote:
> BandiPat a ?crit :
>
>   
>> It would be so much simpler for the user, old or new, to be able to go
>> to the Insert menu heading and select Columns.  A window opens, ok, how
>> many and what gap?  Whamo!  They appear on the page like magic, 2 or 3
>> or 4 equal size columns (text frames) spaced correctly on the chosen
>> page size.  Now I can link them, adjust their size or remove one to my
>> liking!  What could be easier or more intuitive?  While users of Quark
>> or anything else are struggling to "draw" them on their page, I'm
>> already typing and finishing my page.
>>     
>
> Hi Pat,
>
> I am sorry to step very late into this lively discussion... I am on 
> vacation and away from this speedy world. :)
>
> Just a few comments.
>   
[...]
=============
Hi Louis,
Although you make some good comments, it shows you have came in late and
seemed to have missed many things already covered in the discussion. 
Most of your comments just don't pertain.  I don't mean that to sound
rude, please don't take offence. 

Anything can be force fed to a beginner, but let them experience a truly
simple interface with the same features and see which way they go.  The
whole thing is not about frames, as it makes no difference how you start
laying out on the page.  It's more about what you can do with those
frames and how easy you can do it.  You like many others here seem to
want to convince people that a good program has to be hard to understand
& use for it to have any worth.  That's just wrong on so many levels,
because I've seen and used both.  All of this is not just about
beginners or new users, as many seem to have tried to make the
discussion about.  It's about experienced users as well having trouble,
growing frustrated at not being able to do simple things the minute the
program starts.  That's just bad programming and bad ideas about what
software is suppose to be!  That's not meant to be about bashing the
developers here, because these guys are good and I respect each & their
talents & contributions to Scribus. 

It's like a programmer trying to write a manual or technical journal,
they can't do it because they skip over so many important parts in
writing them.  Their knowledge level is so much higher than the reader,
they assume too much.  It's like a good teacher, of which there aren't a
great deal it seems sometimes.  It's very difficult for you, as a highly
experienced user, to drop back down to the level of your students and
understand how they conceive & understand things.  Sure you can force
your thoughts on them, but is that really teaching?

Good programs are easy to use and intuitive.  Good programs inspire the
user to want to know more about them, not drive them away!  In that
respect, Scribus is not a good program, but what it can do, if you spend
enough hours, days, weeks with it and it's many forms of documentation
is very good.  I too will humbly say from a professional perspective,
Scribus is not very straightforward nor intuitive in it's present state
and it has a pretty steep learning curve.  It has a ways to go yet, the
developers have made that point, but I'm hoping this whole discussion
(and it's been a good one with so many joining in) will give everyone
pause for thought.

Hope I didn't offend anyone,
Pat


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