Revive Raskin's 3 laws of software with humane work that considers a dev's duty of care
All this, and angry NeoVim users
In 1942, Isaac Asimov introduced three laws to govern the behavior of robots, aiming to prevent them from causing harm to humans. These laws have stood the test of time and continue to be relevant in today's software design. Jef Raskin, the lead designer of Apple's original Macintosh project, took Asimov's concepts and applied them to the user interface of software.
Raskin's three laws emphasize that a computer should not harm a user's work or cause them unnecessary time loss, and that the interface should be responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties. However, the open-source software world has yet to fully embrace these principles, as evidenced by the controversy surrounding the NeoVim editor.
When users tried to restore their undo history in NeoVim, they discovered that previous changes were overwritten, causing significant data loss. This incident highlights the need to adhere to Raskin's first law, which states that a program must not harm a user's data or allow it to come to harm, even through inaction. The open-source community should take note and ensure that their software designs prioritize user data safety and ease of use.
Written by urgent.news from The Register's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
