[Talk-ht] [OSM-talk] Thoughts on OSM design, and looking forward and back

[Jochen Plumeyer]

Hi everybody,

right now Schuyler "Troubleseeker" Erle and Tom Buckley are down here in the 
Caribbean. I hope some day I will be able as well to give some OSM workshops, 
I live just around the corner of the quake.

Could we prepare something like a methodology of usability evaluation, to give 
something like a checklist to the OSM folks who will give these workshops?
I hope this does not sound like a thesis title ;-)

Perhaps you, Steve? Perhaps as you have so much experience with newbie 
parties, perhaps you could define the focal points and defects in usability, 
just a list of issues you noticed with the people, for the trainers to be 
prepared.

Potlatch discussion:
My personal point of view regarding Potlatch is, that I personally don't want 
to edit maps in the browser. I know, the hype says "the browser is/ can 
everything", but for other than basic editing, I want an external program.
Today we have platform independent toolkits like QT and Wx or Java, for me the 
usability is much better like this. 
One link to the statically linked "exe" and we are ready to go.

OSM web site:
I agree that the website could polish its chrome a bit, in other words, we 
should look for a talented designer who knows CSS.
I agree as well that the logo has nearly a sympathic "80s oldschool retro 
style" if you know what I mean, Amiga demo scene ;-) . 
No no, not really that much. :-)
The website environment looks right now as gray and cold like a website for a 
polar bear lever cancer laboratory, with an awesome map. 
I understand this, I am as well a technician who is an aestethic ignorant.

Cheers, I'm already late, having right now a date with a good-looking female 
haitian voodoo priest in Santo Domingo ;-)

Jochen