Language chooser at login

[Robert Ancell]

On 04/07/11 21:00, Gunnar Hjalmarsson wrote:
> I take it that you would like to see a solid base for decision that we
> do not have access to. Given that, to me the natural conclusion is that
> Ubuntu keeps providing the feature for now.
For a feature to exist, it needs a justification.  I see no reason why
the result of this discussion cannot produce one if it exists.  If there
is no justification, then we should not continue a feature.
> Btw, your position on this topic seems to have changed rapidly. The
> language chooser is included in the design description at
> http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/LightDM/Design, which I suppose
> formed a part of the base for the decision to make LightDM the default
> dm in Ubuntu. And a few weeks ago you stated explicitly on this list
> that the feature will be included in the Oneiric release. What happened?
I don't think it's changed rapidly.  The design process for the greeter
to be used in Oneiric originally started with a language selector, but
we couldn't find a strong reason for it.  So the current design (still a
work in progress) doesn't have one.  We're now having a discussion about
it, and this will influence the design.

Also, please note that the decision to include or not include a language
selector in Ubuntu does not necessarily reflect the design of LightDM or
any other greeters that may be developed for it.
>> Can you provide some examples of these types of users, and why/how they
>> currently switch language?
> I probably wouldn't do that better than you. But if you think about it,
> if you would require that sort of insight about every feature we are
> currently providing, there are a lot of features that should be wiped
> out right away. ;-)
And they should.  Unity/GNOME Shell wiped out a whole lot of features of
GNOME Panel and it was a good move.
>
>> There are disadvantages to keeping this feature:
>> - This feature is quite complex to support.
> How? Once in place, I fail to see that complexity. Ok, since I worked
> with the current Natty solution, I'm about as biased as anyone can be...
This feature involves setting a number of environment variables, which
may be overridden by login scripts.  It needs to be synchronised with
the session.  Implementing a feature is only one part of the work,
keeping it working in the future when other parts of the code change is
not free.
>> - By having this feature both in the login screen and in the control
>> center we are duplicating functionality but providing an inconsistent
>> method of configuring it.
> Agreed. Certainly there is room for organizing the code better,
> including sharing code between the dm and language-selector. I'd be
> happy to help with that.
Think of how you would answer this question from a user:
"How do I change my language?"
Would the answer be - from the login screen or from the control center. 
But if you want to change the number format, then only in the control
center.
Or should you say - from the control center, where all the other
settings are.
>
> As I said in a bug comment, I understand that you are loaded with
> various other aspects of LightDM, to make it stable before the Oneiric
> release, and that you may not feel for struggling with a language
> chooser on top of it. But you also know that I have offered to help out
> with getting the functionality in place. You just need to open the door.
This is not a question of having the time to work on the feature, it is
the question "Should there be a language option in the greeter?".
>
> Then let's develop this aspect of the desktop further after having
> considered various options more carefully and in a more structured way
> than currently is the case.
>
This is what we're doing right now!