i can’t find the original thread for the discussio...
# of-end-user-programming
g
i can’t find the original thread for the discussion on how often end users customize their tools, but an interesting case study is that the roam research community seems to do a baffling amount of work to get basic programmer functionality out of that app, which suggests that giving users control over a more powerful data model encourages customization. eg: https://twitter.com/catominor3/status/1297395298805985280?s=21
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c
Yup! In fact I'd point to the recent trend of fairly non-technical iOS users using (ostensibly) programming-related tools (the Shortcuts app and Widgetsmith) to customize the aesthetics of their home screens, which really flies in the face of the "build a nice enough walled garden that no one will complain" wisdom: https://twitter.com/halfricanchris/status/1308493886323523584?s=21 If that doesn't scream "bafflingly large amount of work for (seemingly) pointless functionality" I don't know what does! haha
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And, don't get me wrong, although I'm not sure I would characterize "lack of customizability" as evidence of some kind of systemic oppression (as is the case in this tweet), it certainly does serve to minimize the aesthetic preferences of the user rather than giving them agency over their environment. I have to wonder whether there is a more humane approach to doing this rather than requiring super-motivated users to find "hacks" around the system and then publicizing them. Roam seems to lean into the "let users hack around it" notion in terms of how they deal with styling, for instance (allowing users to inject their own CSS into the app), but that obviously has its trade-offs as well.
d
Hah, that reminds me that the first "programming" I did was windows 95 background/folder code and my first students were learning CSS/html to customize their tumblrs
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