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[BUG-228331] UI "misleading" (or just plain wrong) for image upload == confused users #6441

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sl-service-account opened this issue Mar 18, 2020 · 0 comments

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What just happened?

When uploading textures the upload dialogue shows the "lossless" checkbox.
It is typically ticked (checked) by default and is greyed out (disabled).

https://i.gyazo.com/9971b0eade3c5ba2d6327968e4b75f22.png

The intuition derived from this is that the texture you are uploading is going to be lossless and that even if you wanted it to be "lossy" you cannot (de)select that.

This is completely wrong intuition. What is actually happening is that the image you are uploading is >128x128 (or an equivalent aspect ratio amounting to >16K pixels) and will ALWAYS be lossy, irrespective of ANY setting. The setting that is shown is a global setting that indicates the "general" desire to use lossless compression where applicable.

What were you doing when it happened?

uploading a single image.

What were you expecting to happen instead?

Users are expecting lossless uploads, this is not going to happen. However, it appears to be a widespread misunderstanding.

The checkbox should be hidden, not disabled, for all "larger" images, for images <16K pixels area it could be left visible and active, but I would suspect that it is simpler to remove the control completely and have the uploader treat all 128x128 as lossless without troubling the user.

It would be worth restating the fact that all "typical" texture uploads in SL are lossy, to try to turn around the incorrect perception.

Other information

This was a lesson in personal awareness bias. A well-respected content creator asked me a technical question, in the course of answering it became apparent that they misunderstood the compression used in SL. The individual is well-versed in SL content creation and a stickler for efficiency, to find that they were under this misconception was an eye-opener to me and highlighted the "seriousness" of this otherwise minor miscommunication. Annecdotally, it appears that many questions about "why is my texture distorted/blurry" stem from this incorrect expectation.

Original Jira Fields
Field Value
Issue BUG-228331
Summary UI "misleading" (or just plain wrong) for image upload == confused users
Type Bug
Priority Unset
Status Closed
Resolution Accepted
Reporter Beq Janus (beq.janus)
Created at 2020-03-18T15:33:52Z
Updated at 2020-09-22T19:20:01Z
{
  'Build Id': 'unset',
  'Business Unit': ['Platform'],
  "Is there anything you'd like to add?": 'This was a lesson in personal awareness bias. A well-respected content creator asked me a technical question, in the course of answering it became apparent that they misunderstood the compression used in SL. The individual is well-versed in SL content creation and a stickler for efficiency, to find that they were under this misconception was an eye-opener to me and highlighted the "seriousness" of this otherwise minor miscommunication. Annecdotally, it appears that many questions about "why is my texture distorted/blurry" stem from this incorrect expectation.',
  'ReOpened Count': 0.0,
  'Severity': 'Unset',
  'System': 'SL Viewer',
  'Target Viewer Version': 'viewer-development',
  'What just happened?': 'When uploading textures the upload dialogue shows the "lossless" checkbox. \r\nIt is typically ticked (checked) by default and is greyed out (disabled).\r\n\r\nThe intuition derived from this is that the texture you are uploading is going to be lossless and that even if you wanted it to be "lossy" you cannot select that.\r\n\r\nThis is completely wrong intuition. What is actually happening is that the image you are uploading is >128x128 (or an equivalent aspect ratio amounting to >16K pixels) and will ALWAYS be *lossy*, irrespective of ANY setting. The setting that is shown is a global setting that indicates the "general" desire to use lossless compression where applicable. ',
  'What were you doing when it happened?': 'uploading a single image.',
  'What were you expecting to happen instead?': 'Users are expecting lossless uploads, this is not going to happen. However, it appears to be a widespread misunderstanding.\r\n\r\nThe checkbox should be hidden, not disabled, for all "larger" images, for images <16K pixels area it could be left visible and active, but I would suspect that it is simpler to remove the control completely and have the uploader treat all 128x128 as lossless without troubling the user. \r\n\r\nIt would be worth restating the fact that all "typical" texture uploads in SL are lossy, to try to turn around the incorrect perception.',
  'Where': 'anywhere you like',
}
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