[Sugar-devel] [Dextrose] Some quick comments on the Journal in 11.2.0 build 16 and Dextrose 508

[martin at martindengler.com]

On Tue, May 03, 2011 at 09:32:20AM -0500, James Simmons wrote:
> the Journal view is an Activity in all but name

The Journal's primary function is a "time-based view of
... activities"[1], which is explicitly a meta-activity.  There are
other differences, including:

- the Journal can interact with data store objects it did not create,
  unlike other activities that are / can be limited for security[2]
  reasons.

- the Journal does not fit in the Collaboration UX like an Activity
  (it doesn't show in the Neighborhood view, you can't "Join"
  someone's journal, etc.)

- the Journal (for better or worse) is outside of the Zoom metaphor[3]
  and visually extends to the Frame[4], unlike other activities

The reasons that the Journal feels like another activity have always
seemed a bit jarring, as it would if the Neighborhood were "just" an
activity.  An alternative Journal has been done before[5] and it's
amazing but note how it's not integrated into the rest of the Sugar
Shell (Zoom metaphor components), and that's a real chunk of messy
work because the Journal is really not an Activity.

> If [kids succeed in replacing the Journal] they can impress their
> friends by customizing an important part of Sugar.

Yes, but...

> Allowing them to replace the Journal Activity with one they
> created themselves would be a safe way to do that.  If they screw up
> the original Activity is still there.

...no.  The original activity might still be there, but all that data
that just got deleted?  Or transformed?  ...it's gone.

> James Simmons

Martin

1. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Human_Interface_Guidelines/The_Laptop_Experience/The_Journal
2. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Human_Interface_Guidelines/Design_Fundamentals/Key_Design_Principles#Security
3. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Human_Interface_Guidelines/The_Laptop_Experience/Zoom_Metaphor
4. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Human_Interface_Guidelines/The_Laptop_Experience/Zoom_Metaphor#Activity
5. http://dev.laptop.org/~cscott/journal2/journal2-talk.pdf http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Journal2 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 198 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/sugar-devel/attachments/20110503/6d9ab24f/attachment.pgp>