Re: Bruce Schneier's Proposal to dedicate November meeting to saving the Internet from the NSA

[Dave Crocker <[e-mail]>]

On 9/6/2013 4:19 PM, Scott Brim wrote:
> On Sep 6, 2013 3:34 PM, "Dave Crocker" <[e-mail]
> <mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:
>  > To what end?  Their poor uptake clearly demonstrates some basic
> usability deficiencies.  That doesn't get fixed by promotional efforts.
>
> Or rather, as we've seen in other cases, people just don't see potential
> benefits large enough to motivate them.


Perhaps.  But fundamental usability deficiencies can move these issues 
into the realm that warrants quoting Marshall Rose: "With enough thrust, 
pigs /can/ fly."  Only in this case, it's more like "for some issues, no 
amount of thrust can get this pig into the air."

In other words, considering the issues only in terms of user motivation 
ignores actual basic usability design deficiencies.

Currently, problems with security usability include:

    0. Systems providing very poor information

    1. Systems providing information at very poor times

    2. Users having to know too much

    3. Users having to do too much

Working on user motivation can help a little bit with #3 and none of the 
rest.  It can't help with all of #3 because there are cognitive limits 
that frequently apply.

d/
-- 
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net