Status Messages Vs Personal Messages

[Mark Doliner]

2008/9/11 Mike Jones <eternalorb at gmail.com>:
> is it that large of a problem for it to be left as an option? ive never
> discussed options during my classes yet, i my application design class
> doesnt start until next term...??

Pidgin is a pretty large program with a large number of features.
Many of those features could have options associated with them.  If we
added an option or two for every feature, you can see how the
preferences window would quickly become gigantic and unusable.
Therefore we strive to keep the number of options to a minimum, both
for increased usability and also to make the program easier to
develop, test and maintain.

This essay by Havoc Pennington discusses some general beliefs that
many of us agree with:
http://www106.pair.com/rhp/free-software-ui.html

-Mark