Mea Culpa - I was wrong

[Stephen Eilert]

On 10/13/07, Charliep <charliep at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Richard:
>
> "customer acquisition" is a marketing term. Use "user acquisition" in its
> place. The premise of improving user acquisition is is that with more
> users
> you will get more volunteers who can help develop new features. Another
> eventuality is that if Pidgin goes mainstream somebody (like Google) will
> come forward with a way to monetize or sponsor or subsidize development
> costs


*IF* Pidgin goes mainstream? Care to name another cross-platform
multi-protocol client with more users?

Users != Developers. Besides, there's some circular logic here. "If Pidgin
adds tons of features, more people will be attracted, some of which are
developers, that can add new features, but wait, features are what attracted
them in the first place". No, developers step forward from the user base,
but that's usually *because* they want to improve/add some feature, not
because the feature was already there.



Can you please tell me where I can download this patch? The present Buddies
> -- Show -- Protocol Icons really does not work. It shows BOTH the green /
> clock / paper icons and the IM Protocol icons. Two icons per contact
> defeats
> the entire purpose and makes the program almost impossible to use for me.
> I
> like to keep a very skinny window open on the right hand side of my
> screen,
> and with two icons and the ... after the name I am left with 1 character
> of
> the person's name.


With such a lack of screen space, do you really really want to know at a
glance which protocol someone is using? I'd think some sort of compromise
must be made. Plus, the popup that appears when you hold the mouse over the
contact already has this information and more, for all contacts.

Play a while with the "expand" feature, drag your multiple contacts under
the same name, get used to it. I bet you are going to find it much better to
start conversations, switch protocols and so on.

Not to mention that protocols shouldn't matter to the end user at all, ever,
in any application ever designed by mankind.


--Stephen

programmer, n:
        A red eyed, mumbling mammal capable of conversing with inanimate
monsters.
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