[development] what's a "user"? (was re: Have you ever laughed fate in the face?)

[Derek Wright]

On Jul 18, 2006, at 7:28 AM, Gerhard Killesreiter wrote:

> If I write "user" in a Drupal development context, I always mean  
> the person that downloads drupal-4.7.x.tar.gz, installs it, and  
> creates the site. The users of said site are that site's users not  
> Drupal's.

not to pick a fight about terminology, but i think this is  
misleading... ;)

we, the drupal developers, should be concerned about the usability of  
drupal for both of these sets of "users".  i think it's more  
consistent to call the end-users of drupal sites "users" and the  
people who download and install drupal the "admins".  that's how it  
breaks down for them, that's the basic terminology within drupal  
itself, and i think that's how most of us already talk about things.   
of course, there are different kinds of "admins" (i.e. someone who  
knows nothing about php and installs drupal via a packaged installer  
vs. a developer who sets up a site out of a cvs workspace), but i'm  
less concerned about that distinction, and "developer" vs. "power  
admin" vs. "novice admin", etc, would easily get the point across if  
you needed to be specific.

the only reason i raise it is that i'd be wary of any mindset or  
terminology choice that tends to push end-users-of-drupal-sites off  
the radar of the development community, since we have to make drupal  
"easier" for them, along with admins (and, as dries and others have  
pointed out, us developers, too).

On Jul 18, 2006, at 8:35 AM, Gerhard Killesreiter wrote:
> Hmm, it /might/ be I misread Greg's comment. :p

right, no harm done. ;)  i'm just pointing out why adopting  
consistent terminology about something as important as this would  
help avoid misreading each-others proposals... especially if a major  
development focus for the foreseeable future will be "usability"...
"usability for whom?"  i'd argue all three groups (users, admins,  
developers) could use some lovin', and obviously different patches  
will effect the usability for different groups.  we'll all be happier  
and get more done if everyone immediately understands which group(s)  
a given patch or proposal targets (and not just for usability, for  
that matter).

thanks,
-derek