[imp] IMP6 v IMP5

[Michael M Slusarz]

Quoting Simon Brereton <simon.buongiorno at gmail.com>:

> On 12 July 2012 16:20, Michael M Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org> wrote:
>> Quoting Simon Brereton <simon.buongiorno at gmail.com>:
>>
>>> On 12 July 2012 15:27, Jan Schneider <jan at horde.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> This *is* the message preview.
>>>
>>> How can it be a preview, it's the whole message.  That's like watching
>>> Lord of Rings and saying it's a trailer.
>>> I think the purpose of calling out these headers should be to include
>>> them in the "preview".  At the moment it would be quicker and easier
>>> for me to see them by clicking on view source than opening in a new
>>> window..
>>
>>
>> Because there is limited space in the preview window.  We are not going to
>> show every message detail in there, or else the preview window becomes
>> worthless.  99% of people just want a way to quickly read their message.
>> They don't need any advanced functionality.  And for the 1% of others, 99%
>> of the time you don't need advanced features.
>
> Space is limited if you're using very old hardware.  As you can see
> from the screenshots (sorry, list, only Michael will get them),
> there's more than enough space - even on the laptop screen - and the
> fact that you a) have to know what message headers are, b) know where
> to find them and c) know where to add them if you want to see them all
> point to logical conclusion that this is where they should be *if* the
> user is advanced enough to know AND care.

You haven't refuted any of the arguments made in the previous email.   
Your primary argument seems to be "there is space for these features  
on the screen."  Problem with that argument: most people use the  
horizontal layout, not the vertical layout.

As an aside: the vertical layout has all sorts of inherent issues:
1. Most HTML emails are not viewed properly - preview pane is too  
narrow.  The human eye is trained to read/watch things in a wide  
rectangular view (why TVs have moved to 16:9 aspect ratio).
2. No easy way to sort.
3. No thread sorting.

Vertical layout is for people that have grown up on Outlook.  It is  
not the preferable solution and analytics indicate that it is far less  
preferred than the default.  UI of the mailbox page is necessarily  
going to be primarily dictated by the horizontal layout.

And I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but mine is 800 px wide  
(top of the line 14" model).  With 200 pixels for the sidebar and 300  
pixels (VERY conservative minimum) for the mailbox listing, that  
leaves no room to do anything in the preview pane.  And there can't be  
separate preview pane UI's depending on the layout, so that's not an  
option either.

Adding all these features adds substantial overhead.  You have in no  
way convinced me that it makes sense to add all of this overhead for  
features that admittedly almost nobody is going to use.

And your argument on advanced users is misplaced.  I have extra  
headers I want to view.  But I NEVER want to see them in the preview  
pane.  If I care about the headers, I know exactly where to find them:  
the message screen.

As always, the beauty of open source is that you can add these  
features to your local install if you desire them that much.

michael

___________________________________
Michael Slusarz [slusarz at horde.org]