this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
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It is hard if you don't know you need to mount the share. How long should people be searching the web for, looking to access the share directly like some apps can do, when they have never even heard of the concept of mounting a share. Telling non IT people to use some command line or other nerdy hack, with magic words that fail if one single letter is wrong, to do what shouldn't even be necessary in the first place, is typical gatekeepery that stops so many from using Linux. You might not realise what a huge barrier, such broken usability is, for non IT people. Avoid being part of that barrier.
In Dolphin, yes it's very easy to access the share. Ideally, DigiKam would work the same way. As do apps in Windows. This is why I say mounting shouldn't be necessary. Most computer users are not familiar with such methods. I guess you are not interested in usability. Don't mix what you find easy and what other, non IT users will find easy. And they will have to learn every step that you already know. The command line fails hugely on usability, learnability and familiarity. As such other OSs don't expect people to use it. And as such have the majority market share.
Yes, if direct access is not possible, there should be an easy GUI way to mount a share. I'd happily help with the UX.
You really have to put yourself in the position of a non IT user. They see a blank window with a blinking cursor. No hint at what to do. You know they have already chosen GUI systems. And for good reason. It's over. The numbers are clear. Talk to usability insiders. As you have clearly shown you are not one. Many Linux devs have worked hard to carefully create desktop environments and Apps like Digikam, all GUI based. To give non IT users a chance to use Linux. And make it an inclusive and learnable OS. They hate it when usability outsiders scare people off by telling them to leave their familiar world into a strange and difficult place.
"It is not strange"
The terminal is nothing like familiar GUIs people use daily. To most, the terminal is strange and full of opportunities to mess up.
"so much faster by copy/paste"
It's not faster when the user needs to go to a separate application first to find the instructions, then find the text to copy. And also search for how to use the terminal, and that it might be called Konsole confusingly. And also to understand if the command did anything. Does it print anything that you need to read? Should you close the terminal afterwards? Should you trust copy pasting from Internet strangers? All this is missing from online help, where they assume people have used the command line before.
Such a GUI app could be launched from Dolphin by right-clicking the share, and selecting a new option "Mount" that would help discoverability. A standalone app would need: