Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I completely understand your point, and I agree that, in hindsight, I could have Googled the details more effectively.
Well, my main focus with this post was to explore the approach and the mindset—how things are presented and how much of a difference that can make. I wanted to share in detail how I felt emotionally and what my experience was, to help clarify my perspective.
It’s true that if I had just Googled it, opened a few tabs, and searched, I would have found the information I was looking for, like on the blog post.
The thing is, the first link I found was to the official announcement page for Plasma 6.2, which I then explored further. It just didn’t feel as smooth or intuitive as I expected. If you want, I can explain in more detail where I clicked and how I navigated, but I’ll leave that out for now.
I realize that my experience might seem quite niche and possibly not worth overthinking. However, I do believe that a small change in presentation could make the experience a lot better for people who encounter it like I did, even if it’s just a subtle improvement. For most users, it might be a very minor thing, but it could make a smoother experience overall.
So, to focus on something practical, I’ll try to answer your questions about possible workflows and specific improvements.
Please understand that these details aren’t the main point I was trying to make. It was more of a detailed explanation because I couldn’t fully express what I was feeling in fewer words. I was just trying to explain how this experience slightly disrupted the way I viewed Plasma.
For me, Plasma with KDE is one of those platforms that might evolve into one of the most important user interfaces in the future, especially as technology advances.
This is really about the kind of futuristic, utopian user interface I imagine interacting with in the coming years—maybe even far into the future. It’s not about what I’m doing right now, because at the moment my workflow isn’t optimized to its fullest potential, and it might never be, but I’m always working to improve it. Plasma has always given me the sense that it’s constantly evolving, that it’s getting better, and that if something doesn’t work, it will eventually be fixed.
Now, back to your questions:
There are others with more experience in these areas than I have, but I’ll do my best to answer.
What non-default workflows did you feel made the donation request not show up as expected?
This is a tough question because, when I think about it, I know exactly what I mean, but it’s more of a feeling and a general direction I want the system, GUI, DE, or OS to go. But I’ll try to come up with some examples.
If I had, and I’ve done this once, set up a PC (laptop) from scratch, choosing every detail of the software just the way I want it, probably on a long-term supported release rather than a rolling release, and if my user interface were highly customized—maybe with scripted GUI elements like a graphical representation of all my hardware stats (e.g., HDD space usage, live network connection, or even an RSS feed)—that PC would be connected to a screen, but not accessible by mouse or keyboard. I’d only open the laptop if I needed to make changes. This wouldn’t be my main PC; it would be more like a digital photo frame or a high-tech picture on my wall.
If I then hear that I will get a notification, not knowing how it will pop up, how long it will stay, or what it will look like, it could be a bit annoying. Not hugely, but more on the annoying side than exciting. I kept the notification on because I wanted to experience it. However, the way I learned about it just didn’t sit right with me.
For example, a smart mirror, a kiosk mode screen in a public space like a kiosk or Airbnb, a laptop used with a projector for VJing (video representation for DJs or live shows), or just a very futuristic-looking laptop you show off to friends would be other examples of setups where a sudden, unexpected notification could be disruptive. Or, perhaps a PC set up as a TV or radio with no notifications at all—just a large wallpaper or a picture slideshow.
In short, I just wouldn’t want my perfectly set up laptop or PC to be disrupted by anything I haven’t chosen or don’t want.
What would you specifically recommend be changed?
That’s a tough one, too. I think the system integration plays a big role, but the website and the announcement itself are also part of the picture.
So, I used Discover to upgrade as usual, and it upgraded Plasma to 6.2. I saw that it was updated, Googled “Plasma 6.2,” and ended up on the official announcement page. There, I found the information about the donation notification but didn’t quite understand what it meant. I didn’t Google it right away because I assumed it would be a big pop-up window, similar to the welcome screen in Plasma. I thought it was so new that it hadn’t even appeared yet because the year had just started, so I didn’t bother searching. Instead, I tried to navigate the website and found the information, such as the commit, which was well documented. While the commit explained the functionality of the feature, it didn’t give me any information about what the notification itself actually looks like. So, I Googled that separately, and found what it looked like very quickly.
So, what would I specifically recommend be changed?
For the website: It was nearly perfect. I’m not sure how much detail to go into, so I’ll keep it short. If anything is unclear, I can explain further or include a screenshot.
There was a sentence:
“We’ve added a once-a-year donation request notification — please consider using it to show your love for Plasma by donating!”
I’m sure most people understand this is a notification, like a standard Plasma notification, but I assumed it would be a pop-up window. That would have been fine too, but I would have liked to have seen it in advance. Right under that sentence was a link to the complete changelog, which is helpful.
So either right there, or at least in the changelog, there should have been a link or brief explanation about what this notification actually is, what it looks like, and maybe—more subtly—how to disable it. Something like, “This is a KDED module, and like any other KDED module, it can be disabled.” From there, a link or explanation on how to do that—such as opening the “Background Services”—would have been useful.
For the system: Just giving a notification right away saying that there will be more notifications in the future is one possible solution, but I find that kind of disturbing—or just too much. More notifications.
Getting results from searching for ‘donation’ in KRunner or the Application Menu / Application Launcher could help, but that might also clutter things up, which I don’t really want either.
What I would have loved, though—though this is a bit much for such a small issue—is that when Plasma gets a big new version in Discover, there could be a link or an offline version of something like the announcement page. This way, users could find the right place instead of risk landing on a page that might not be as well-designed. (But I still value having the freedom to access different pages, so I’m not sure about this.) At least some offline information would be interesting.
From there, users could see what changed, and when there’s something like a reminder or notification that could be even slightly disruptive, like a major UI change, it would be great to have a graphic preview or at least a good explanation of what it looks like. For instance, how the default theme changes from light to dark, or how the position of something moves from top to bottom. In my opinion, a graphic representation or a preview is always a nice touch. A short explanation with a button or link to see the preview, like in some Plasma settings, would be a good addition.
As for the notification itself, I think it might be more appropriate in the installation or welcome screen, but maybe a reminder would still be needed.
I think having a changelog in the system would have made this more elegant and might have prevented confusion for others, as I’ve seen on this forum, by clarifying that the notification is legitimate and a good thing.
This is just one idea. I might brainstorm more on this, but this message is getting long again, so I’ll keep it brief and clear.
PS: I’m writing this in a mix of English and German, and I’ve been using ChatGPT to help with the translation. So, if the text feels a bit overly polished, that’s due to the assistance I’ve gotten. I just want to clarify that everything I’m sharing is my own writing, but with a bit of help to express it in English. My first language is German, and sorry if I repeat myself a bit—I just feel that otherwise, it could come across as unclear. I sometimes struggle to keep things concise. Thanks for understanding!