[Commotion-discuss] Website feedback from hackday on "warning" sign

Ben West ben at gowasabi.net
Wed Jun 12 18:38:27 UTC 2013


Along these lines of public perception, is Commotion perhaps the only
embedded router firmware out there (compared to DD-WRT, Freifunk, and other
OpenWRT derivatives) that includes such warning language on its download
page?

If so, and if those other firmware distros are likewise capable of doing
90% to 100% of what Commotion does anyway (albeit with more user
configuration effort needed), then I also agree with Ryan.  The warning is
not serving its intended purpose, and intimidating would-be users.

Boilerplate about "no warranty given or implied / no liability for damage"
should likely be adequate.

On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 1:32 PM, Ryan Gerety
<gerety at opentechinstitute.org>wrote:

> I agree.  I would advocate for removing it--it looks like an error--and
> also doesnt really help the user navigate the risks.  I agree with Georgia
> that Commotion's often inaccurate press requires us to be proactive around
> what it cant do (also most software should), but in the end the security is
> very similar to any router firmware.  In most browers the warning takes up
> most the page, so you cant even see the downloads.  I think a link or
> button that says "Learn more about Security with Commotion" would be
> sufficient, and then it can say, "as with most home wireless systems, xxx."
>
>
> On Jun 12, 2013, at 1:29 PM, Dan Staples wrote:
>
> @Georgia: I think trying some alternative displays of the warning label on
> the download page is definitely worth trying. However, I would just as that
> you clone the page and send us links to that instead of modifying the
> actual download page until we've decided on any changes.
>
> In general, I think it's better to make users feel empowered than scared.
> It's already hard enough getting folks to adopt this technology. If someone
> is concerned about their security, they will likely take note of any
> warning labels they see, even if it isn't quite the center of attention of
> the page. I think it's worth considering alterations to the page to make
> the warning label lower down and/or somewhat smaller.
>
> On 06/12/2013 11:28 AM, Andrew Reynolds wrote:
>
> I'm moving this discussion to the commotion-discuss list.
>
> For those just joining in, the issue in question is how to present usage
> warnings related to Commotion's current capabilities[1] in a way that
> does not imply that the user has misconfigured the software.
>
> On one hand, we need to be very clear about Commotion's current
> capabilities, especially given the press around the project. On the
> other hand, we don't want to give the impression that a correct
> installation has failed somehow.
>
> 1. Seehttps://commotionwireless.net/blog/warning-label-development-part-1 andhttps://commotionwireless.net/blog/warning-label-development-part-2
>
> -andrew
>
> On 06/12/2013 11:23 AM, Preston Rhea wrote:
>
>  I maintain that when the first thing someone sees upon clicking a link
> and landing is a warning - someone who isn't a l33t hacker - they will
> think they have come to some page in error, and that creates the wrong
> kind of caution. It can cause confusion and mistrust in one's ability
> to follow the documentation, instead of invite caution about the
> decision you're making to use this sofware.
>
> On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 11:11 AM, Georgia Bullen<georgia at opentechinstitute.org> <georgia at opentechinstitute.org> wrote:
>
>  I think there's a happy medium, which is maybe just a color change to the
> warning label? Or something like that? Pick one of the colors from the color
> palette?
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 10:53 AM, Seamus Tuohy <s2e at opentechinstitute.org> <s2e at opentechinstitute.org>
> wrote:
>
>  That means it works! Seriously though, this is the intended effect. A
> user should feel uneasy and read the warning when they are going to
> download Commotion. Users in non-risky scenarios feeling uncomfortable
> is a small price to pay for those at risk being confronted with the
> limits of this tool.
>
> s2e
>
>
> On 06/11/2013 04:39 PM, Preston Rhea wrote:
>
>  Some of the feedback I got when walking folks through installation had
> to do with the "WARNING" sign on the download site:https://commotionwireless.net/download
>
>   A couple of folks said that when the first thing they see after
> clicking according to the instructions
>
> (https://code.commotionwireless.net/projects/commotion/wiki/Stock_Ubiquiti_Install_Guide)
> is a warning sign, they feel like they've done something wrong. When
> we discussed the purpose of the warning label, they agree that it
> should exist, but that it should be moved down below the initial fold
> of the page - but before the download links - so that it still serves
> its purpose without giving the user a feeling of having committed an
> error, or having gone somewhere dangerous.
>
> --
> Preston Rhea
> Program Associate, Open Technology Institute
> New America Foundation+1-202-570-9770
> Twitter: @prestonrhea
>
>
>   --
> Georgia Bullen
> Field Operations Technologist, Open Technology Institute
> New America Foundation
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Commotion-discuss mailing listCommotion-discuss at lists.chambana.nethttps://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/commotion-discuss
>
>
> --
> Dan Staples
>
> Open Technology Institutehttps://commotionwireless.net
>
>  _______________________________________________
> Commotion-discuss mailing list
> Commotion-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/commotion-discuss
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Commotion-discuss mailing list
> Commotion-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/commotion-discuss
>
>


-- 
Ben West
http://gowasabi.net
ben at gowasabi.net
314-246-9434
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/commotion-discuss/attachments/20130612/f4f7bb1e/attachment.html>


More information about the Commotion-discuss mailing list