[mythtv] MythTV Usability Report

[f-myth-users at media.mit.edu]

    Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 00:04:16 -0500
    From: Isaac Richards <ijr at case.edu>

    On Sunday 08 January 2006 23:56, f-myth-users at media.mit.edu wrote:
    > If MythTV had fewer usability issues, it would probably decrease mail
    > volume on the -users list at least, and also lead to a lot less wasted
    > time by newbies trying to set it up and/or use it, and less time by
    > more-experienced users trying to help them.
    >
    > But improving MythTV usability is currently a giant Catch-22.  Why?

    Because nobody's bothered to produce a _usable_ list of usability issues.  

What, exactly, would such a list look like?

(a) What form would it take?
(b) One big list, or lots of little lists?
(c) In Trac?  In mail?  On a website?  In beetles battling in bottles?
(d) Based on what release?  Latest-this-minute?  Within the last
    month?  Stable?
(e) Would code be -required- when discussing usability?  Would design
    be sufficient?  Would complaining "this confuses x users" be
    sufficient?  Would complaining "this confuses me, and I don't
    know if it confuses others" be sufficient?
(f) If someone -did- produce such a list, would any of it be -used-,
    if the person who produced it wasn't also the person to implement
    each and every piece of it?  And if the person who produced it
    -did- produce patches for each and every piece of it, would they be
    accepted without lots of additional arguing and debate?

I presume you know the answers to these questions, but I sure don't,
and I'm not sure anyone else does, either, based on what happens every
time the issue comes up.