[Tails-ux] Greeter mockups

Hey,

>>> Spencer:
>>> Having an expandable 'Advanced' section below the language settings
>>> feels more appropriate and less fragmented.
>>>
>>
>> Alan:
>> Tchou already proposed this, and I was not convinced because I didn't
>> see other examples of such an expandable section in GNOME.
>>
>
> Intrigeri:
> I *might* have an explanation why expandable widgets are much less
> common on the desktop than on the web, for a good reason.
>
> * On the web, the user is acting in a context where the content is
> always "floating" vertically: the fact things (content + GUI
> elements) are scrolling up and down is fully part of the UX for the
> vast majority of web pages, for better or worse I don't know; and
> then, in turn, seeing stuff expanding vertically upon user action,
> which in turn moves *unrelated* content vertically as well, is
> entirely expected.
>
> * On the desktop, the only contexts when content is "floating"
> vertically is user content (e.g. in a text editor), that moves
> almost only when the user explicitly chooses so. Other parts of the
> GUI are fixed vertically, and more importantly, they don't in turn
> force unrelated content to move around to some place where the user
> might not be expecting them to be, because oh well, you know, it was
> just right here 4 seconds ago and it disappeared.
>
> So it seems to me that, depending on the user's current mindset,
> expandable parts in a GUI may either be fully OK (on the web), or
> a possible cause for very surprising behavior that may hinder UX (on
> the desktop).
>

Good point. The desktop OS is static, however, the most used
application is possibly the web browser, which, as stated, contains
content that floats vertically - document flow, and whatnot. On a
mobile device, in addition to the web browser, the settings is often, if
not always, floating, or at least stacked, vertically. This is the case
for many mobile applications, too. With mobile devices overtaking
desktop devices, it may be in Tails' best interest to adapt to the more
familiar experience. I know .png is testing Tails on tablets, but we
should be close to a native Tails-like phone experience.

Even if we are not, I know we can consider the undesired effects of
vertical-stack interface flows and design around them. The same can be
said for static HUD-like desktop elements.

>
> Disclaimer: I'm clearly not a designer and definitely lack a lot of
> background, concepts, and vocabulary in this area.
>

I think you are, since you most likely make designations. However,
presuming you subscribe to the concept of titles, what would you call
yourself?

Wordlife,
Spencer