I recently started using firefox and was very frustrated with how large the UI was, how it autofilled entire URLs while i was trying to search something, and how it changed my system’s titlebar buttons (minimize, maximize, close) to windows ones when I changed the theme from the default. I just found out about about:config and was able to solve every major issue i had with firefox literally within minutes, so why do they hide most of the settings?
it makes way more sense to just put the settings in the settings menu. also, why hide the compact density option? on a 1920x1080 display the default is about an eighth of my screen, my taskbar is only like 60% of that. having tried a couple of firefox-based browsers, i can confidently say the only thing any of them do better (aside from telemetry that can be easily turned off) is their settings. why does firefox hide most of the settings?
Most of it is settings that absolutely nobody needs to tweak with unless you’re a turbo nerd.
This keeps the settings settings friendly for new users, but you still have all the advanced settings for advanced users.
How exactly are the things I mentioned “advanced”? Most of about:config is advanced stuff, but a lot of things in there are not, and should be regular settings. Something like UI density or not autofilling is not advanced, and should be in the regular settings menu.
Jumping off in to say if you’re on Lemmy you do not have a concept of what’s considered advanced for the average user.
Hey, there are those of us that work in IT Support and know EXACTLY where the average user ends. It’s just about the capabilities and reading comprehension of a 5th grader.
Start button, where’s that?
To be fair… it used to literally say START on it. Now there’s no indication whatsoever of that.
What’s a button?
What’s a computer?
I wonder if age is a better indicator than grade. I’ve been using Firefox since before navigator 1.2 and won’t be surprised if today’s 5th graders can manage tech in circles around me.
I grew up with grandparents that couldn’t figure out how to press one button on the vcr to turn the tv back on. That button was labelled “TV-Video”
I dont have any young people in my life so i don’t know what old person things i do, but like Grampa Simpson said, it will happen to me, and I have no doubt about it already happening to me
Bonus* I’m still so happy that i discovered on my own that i can swipe left and right on the space bar button to move my cursor left and right on my android phone. That simple thing helped me out and satisfies in in a cat who caught the canary kind of way and I’m sure there are dozens of things that would improve my ability to use and navigate new tech just as much that any 5th grader could probably show me
Young people now have issues with full computers. They’ve grown up on iOS and Android, and they expect touchscreens and that type of interface.
Windows, OSX, and Linux are too complicated in comparison. Double clicking and right clicking aren’t concepts on mobile interfaces. They’re used to tapping or just holding on an icon.
They can learn easier sure, but the knowledge they have doesnt directly translate as well as you’d think.
Not sure why you are explaining what i said to me again in a different way, but thats pretty much what the bulk of what i rambled was about
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That’s fair. I run IT Support and understand this. And at the same time the folks in finance are saying the same shit about our comprehension of basic accounting principles and business needs. Just calling out there’s always perspectives.
If anything, the public facing settings menu is already too much for them.
Are you implying that Lemmy, which is little more than a federated reddit clone, is “advanced”? The only difficult part about Lemmy itself is that making an account is a little awkward. Also, if you read the post you might see that I gave specific examples and they are VERY basic things.
“Very basic things TO YOU” I cannot stress how much most people in the world don’t give a fuck about their browser. It’s an interest to you so you know more about it. To the vast majority of people if it has an address bar, search bar, forward and back buttons then they’re just fine with it. Nothing wrong with either side there.
the average person does not understand the distinction between google search and chrome
Wether or not people care has nothing to do with how basic something is. Like yeah, most people don’t care if their browser fills in a whole url when they type in the address bar, but some people search for different but similar things often enough that a browser doing that makes it unusable. I am one such person. Also, if someone doesn’t care about their browser then they aren’t changing any settings in the first place, so putting a couple more basic options (that, I cannot stress enough, are already in the browser but have been hidden in a much less user friendly interface) has literally no effect on them, while making the experience much better for users who do want to change a couple settings. This is why most apps have a settings menu that actually contains the settings, not just privacy options and a link to the themes.
I’ve been using firefox since it was still netscape navigator 1.2
I have no idea what you are even talking about.
That’s why it’s an advanced setting.
The average user is dumber than you think. I’m the case in point.
Or maybe not, since i know that all the annoying “you actually need to know what the hell any of this shit is settings, or you better be using a very good guide to change these settings” are super easy to find by going into the about:config.
Having to search through endless menus and submenus for basic settings is annoying AF. Those settings should be as easy and obvious as possible for everyone who cant use about:config to do what you need to do