So many folks out there are puzzled with a lot of stuff as they start to use any web based system. Naturally, vendors do their best not to scare people off from the very start. Too cumbersome forms and things that complicate the app use are not the way to attract customers.It wasn't even a question before I noticed as interesting paculiarity while testing the next feature of the service.
Apparently, it’s not the case with Dabble DB.
Just recently one interesting Dabble DB blog post caught my eye. I was really confused to read this:
"… new Dabble customers are often confused by word variations compared to programs like Access and Excel."
Well, personally I had no problem with terminology and stuff reviewing Dabble DB functionality, that’s not it. I am just wondering how come (and who came up with the very idea) the vendor introduces new terminology that only muddles people, trying to retrain the customers and teach them new notions nobody uses. Except Dabble DB, of course.
All I wanted to say is that a lot of stuff complicates the common users’ life. There is no need to add to this.
i agree. tables are categories, records are entries and databases are applications in dabble. im not sure why.
ReplyDeleteI guess our blog post didn't explain this well enough: most of our customers have never used Access and many are unfamiliar with database concepts. We also feel that a lot of database terminology is confusing. Also, because Dabble doesn't work the same way as, say, Access, it would simply have been incorrect to try and re-use all of the same terms like "primary key" and "foreign key".
ReplyDeleteIn the case of "category" vs. "table", a conscious decision was made based on a few things. A table is only one way of looking at data, and we offer several different ways. Editing data in Dabble generally consists of using a form which isn't part of a table at all. Finally, it's possible to put an entry into more than one category, and saying that makes sense to most people, but saying "an entry into more than on table" makes a lot less sense.
"the vendor introduces new terminology that only muddles people" is a subjective statement. Yes, some people get confused by our terms, but most people don't.
I see your point. Really, some users may get it at once, but apparently the other category of customers have problems if the vendor publishes such post. Thats the first thing.
ReplyDeleteOf course, its the vendors right to set his own rules of the game (terminilogy, etc). But if the very name of the product Dabble DB includes the word "database" (correct me if I am wrong here), I can't see why puzzle custommers.