Martin McClure wrote:

> At 6:37 PM -0700 4/18/02, Scott Wallace wrote:
> 
>> Here for your slings and arrows is a list of possible default settings 
>> for preferences for 3.2.
> 
> My general philosophy about the default preferences is to set them to 
> the settings that will make Squeak the most comfortable for newcomers.
> Those with more experience can easily change the preferences, whereas 
> those who are new shouldn't be expected to adjust to too many new things 
> at once.

I agree.


>> (inboardScrollbars false)
> 
> I agree with Ned that this should not be the default. Every time I've 
> shown a new person Squeak with flop-out scrollbars they have trouble 
> with them; I think they're a barrier to adoption, though they're useful 
> on limited-size screens.
> 
>> (scrollBarsOnRight false)

> 
> Similarly, except for die-hard Next users, Squeak newcomers are used to 
> having scrollbars on the right. I think the default should be to have 
> them on the right, it'll cause less confusion.
Agreed with both of these.  People who prefer the flop-out scrollbars are

more likely to know how to change the preferences. :)


>> (alternativeScrollbarLook true)
> 
> This one is a personal preference, but I can't imagine the majority of 
> newcomers disagreeing. The alternative scrollbars are just too hard to 
> 1) see what they mean and 2) do what you want. Positioning the menu 
> under the up arrow is part of the problem, but not all of it. I've had 
> experienced computer users who are new to Squeak take one look and say 
> "What's that thing there? How do I use this?" I used these scrollbars 
> daily from the time they came out until just a few weeks ago, so I feel 
> like I gave them a fair chance, but I'm glad I finally ditched them.

Actually, it turns out that if you turn off the inboardScrollbars in the 
current 3.2gamma, it will also turn off the rounded (a.k.a. "sausage") 
scrollbar look and put the menu button back on top, although it will 
keep the matched colors.  (A slightly cheesy compromise I suppose.)  So, 
I think just changing the first two preferences you mention (and not 
this one) will be sufficient for what you want...?


> At 7:20 PM -0700 4/18/02, Ned Konz wrote:
> 
>> (scrollBarsWithoutMenuButton false)
>>
>> increases the possibility of getting a menu when you're aiming at a
>> scroll bar arrow.
> 
> Possibly so, but I'd rather leave the menu button in the scroll bars, 
> for the one-button mouse Mac users (though a platform-specific 
> preference would be OK, too -- scrollBarMenuButtonIfMac or something). 
> Also, I think that not using the alternative scrollbar look makes it 
> less likely to accidentally hit the menu button.
Actually, the platform-specific preference would be kind of cool.  Although

I suppose what we'd really want is something like 
scrollBarMenuButtonIfNoMultiButtonMouse or something like that, since 
you'd want the menu button for PDA platforms too.

For now, I'd probably just leave the menu button preference enabled.


Thanks to Scott for bringing up the default preference settings for an 
open discussion.

- Doug Way
   dway at riskmetrics.com