(Replying to PARENT post)

When did we stop building software for the "Power User" persona? I don't disagree that there are some (many?) people who start screaming and running in circles when they see an error code, but not every user is like that. You don't have to be a dev to care any the distinction between a system doing its job and silently failing. Why not have some indication that there's smoke coming out from the engine?
👤falcor84🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

When did we stop building software for the "Power User" persona?

I think the change was very simple - we stopped bothering with middleground. "Power Users" were treated like "users, but a bit more", so we had 'users', 'power users', and 'developers'. All that happened is that we just accepted that power user can have the same access to tools as developers.

We didn't stop giving power users extra power. We gave power users more power.

👤onion2k🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

My current pet example for the trend of hiding more and more details from users is an issue I recently had with Doordash.

I was trying to place an order, and it kept failing with a red banner stating "something went wrong" (I'm paraphrasing as I don't recall the exact verbage, but it was one of those completely worthless error messages)

Pop open dev tools ... the server is returning something about a graphql error.

Support had no idea what was wrong.

The problem ended up being that my saved credit card had expired. For fuck's sake, that is a user-actionable error; tell me what the problem is. At least tell me it was a payment problem, since that's probably all the payment processor told you.

👤mcronce🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Related: the boot scroll. most of the time the scroll of boot messages is harmless and when the system fails to boot it is very very useful to see where. yet the design types hated it. and now no desktop orientated OS shows a boot scroll, opting for a near useless spinner instead.

Opinion: I quite like the scroll, I think it comforting to see what the machine is doing. I think this is why sim city put a fake one in their loader(reticulating splines anyone). I wonder if the sim city messages tied into actual load events and could be used by the programmers to debug the loader. I think the later ones were random, but 2000 might of had an order to it.

👤somat🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

This sounds like inconsequential quibbling over terminology. There's nothing stopping a browser power user from opening up dev tools to look at error codes.
👤unmole🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Why not use extensions for this like (quickly searching firefox add-ons): https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/http-status-code... ?

I think we just have fight for poweruser options to be available via APIs and support the add-on ecosystem.

👤riedel🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I don't see how this is related to an error code. Most of the time, if you get a non-200, the website is broken in some way and it's not your problem to fix. If it is (because you develop an extension, for example), it's easy enough to open dev tools. But for the most part, status codes aren't relevant even for power users, as you have no idea whether the page handles the error or is silently failing.
👤Sebb767🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

> When did we stop building software for the "Power User" persona?

1996 or 1997. I can't narrow it down further.

Shortly after that, they actively became hostile to power users. Just play with your dumb little consumer appliance like you're supposed to.

👤NoMoreNicksLeft🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

At first we agreed; having a future with primarily "Power Users" in mind would be pretty empowering. Then,

At second; it would likely mean many folks lacking in other skills, unbalancing what little we have in the society of work.

At third: include all the error detail you like, simply put it behind a "click here for more details" side door.

👤imperialdrive🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Opening the dev tools and looking at the network tab is easy enough for power users.
👤Raed667🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

> When did we stop building software for the "Power User" persona?

The moment they(i mean we) started blocking ads I think.

👤reportgunner🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Probably because power users are en insignificant fraction of users for a general public application.

I drive a car and only care about the speed, how far I can drive and to be warned that I have to stop if something is wrong.

I do not care about the temperature of the oil or water, about the tension on the thffr which powers the louhguh or why zgfnkvgv failed.

I know that if something goes wrong I will call the road assistance number.

If someone wants to learn more there is the hidden bus they can plug into, aka Dev Tools For Cars

👤BrandoElFollito🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Isn't the power user served perfectly fine with the devtools? I mean if a website breaks a normal user is going to leave it the power user will open devtools?
👤account-5🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

That user is who the dev tools are for?

It's not a big deal for a power user to hit F12 then click the network tab...

👤babypuncher🕑2y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Every user, with a single KB shortcut or a click in the main hamburger menu, can access dev tools.

That’s pretty power user friendly.

👤rhaway84773🕑2y🔼0🗨️0