[OpenVerse] Not Fun / Fun gui ideas.

[Bart Dorsey <echo@bucket.pp.ualr.edu>]

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Here's some suggestions and comments about the new interface, and a
little on the old interface.

First off though, I'd like to point out, I don't see anything "fun" or
"not fun" about either interface ;)

Cute names though, but they seem like something that really should only
hang around during development, for a final version something that is a
little more obvious would probably be preferred (although this probably
wouldn't be "fun").

Perhaps "Menu Bar GUI" and "ToolBar GUI"

Or perhaps just a rethinking altogether, with toggles to turn the menu
bar and toolbar on and off independently of one another. Also perhaps a
"small toolbar" that has mini-icons for the most common functions.

I'll go over specifics about each of the current modes now:

"Fun" mode - 

I don't have too many complaints about fun mode, perhaps because I'm
already used to it. But just being "used" to something doesn't
necessarily make it a good interface ;) One of the things about fun mode
is that It has buttons that have menus built onto them, and they aren't
all the same. I dont know if Tk supports this, but a button that
produces a menu should look like a "drop down list". i.e. it should have
an arrow on it that indicates that it's not a normal button.  Motif
(which tk resembles) uses a button with a sort of raised rectangle on it
to respresent this (while not the best looking widget, it's better than
the drop down looking like a regular button.

There should probably be a selection to choose between text labeled
buttons, and buttons that only contain pixmaps for the functions. pixmap
labeled buttons would take up much less screen real estate.
pixmap only buttons should have tooltips.


"Not Fun" mode -

The biggest problem with this mode, is that there are several menu that
aren't actually menus but "look" like menus.

"Connect" should be a button. Not a menu.

"Help" should be a button if the singular help choice is all there is to
be. You could make it a menu if you did at least two options in it,
perhaps a "Topics" and "About" selection.

Here's a possible way to reorganize the menus.

OpenVerse
--Connect
  Passageways
	--Add current room
	  Refresh List
	  Passageways1
		--Item 1...
  Setup
  
View
--*Text Window
  *Menu Bar (this one would be tricky.. if you get rid of this, you need
to make a simple way to get it back.)
  *Toolbar
  *Name Labels
  *Avatars
  *Sound (I know you don't really "view" sounds, but.. I can't think of
a better place for this.. and it is a "toggle" like the others)

Avatar
--*Animate
  Avatars
	--List of avatars.
  Avatar Editor (Aved)

Users
--Whois Everyone
  Name1
	--Whois etc, etc.
  Name2
	--Whois etc, etc.

Help
--Topics
  Help room (warps you to a "newbie server"? ;) )
  About (credits and version number)

  
Then the window would also have a Connect, and a Send button and typing
blank.

Although I would almost argue for the connect button being part of the
toolbar that you can toggle.

I hope this all made sense...Any questions or comments are very very
welcome.
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