[IAEP] http://www-testing.sugarlabs.org/

[Nate Ridderman]

On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 12:39 PM, Benjamin M. Schwartz <
bmschwar at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:

> 2a. The cardinal sin, in both sites, is to prize form over function.  OLPC
> didn't mind this, since they were sure that everyone who needed to know
> about OLPC already knew about it.  In fact, they were trying to cultivate
> a visionary image, so an unusably stylish website seemed perfect to convey
> the appropriate mysterious aura.
>
> Sugar Labs is the reverse.  We are engineers and educators.  We are here
> to get things done.  We are truly an open organization, with no need to
> present a false front of trendy but uninformative buzzwords, or make
> understanding our project into a game of hide and seek.
>

I think I understand what you are trying to say, but I actually find the
site lacking visual form. You meant the organization of the information is
idealistic and not functional, right? I associate the form of the website
with the visual artifacts, not the text.

I also don't see a negative correlation between a stylish website and the
practical nature of Sugar Labs. When I see a stylish website for an open
source project, it increases my perception of the organization. Most
websites for open source projects are too spartan for me. I suppose it
depends on the intended audience, but in our case the wiki is already
available for the practical and spartan.

Adding to the visual problems is that I don't have Helvetica installed on my
machine. I think I'm getting the standard, ugly Arial that comes with
Windows. Perhaps we can embed a Creative Commons licensed Helvetica clone in
the site?

>
> 3.  It never says what Sugar is.  "Sugar is a computer operating
> environment for students, designed to replace or complement existing
> desktop user interfaces."  The website never states anything plainly,
> opting instead for this long list of dull incomplete aphorisms, which link
> to phrases that are _still_ not valid sentences.  Even aggregating all the
> information in that list, I would not be able to tell you what Sugar is.
>

I agree that there needs to be a promintently displayed page that attempts
to describe Sugar in a few paragraphs. I find the current list of
...sentences... to be very intimidating for some reason. People aren't used
to reading content organized like this.

Finally, let me say thanks to the folks who have worked on the site. It may
not be perfect but it's a great step in the right direction.

Thanks,
Nate
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