Feature #11604

Easing access to the ISO for power users

Added by runasand 2016-07-28 06:38:26 . Updated 2017-12-14 16:24:24 .

Status:
Resolved
Priority:
Normal
Assignee:
Category:
Installation
Target version:
Tails_3.5
Start date:
2016-07-28
Due date:
% Done:

0%

Feature Branch:
Type of work:
Website
Blueprint:

Starter:
Affected tool:
Installation Assistant
Deliverable for:

Description

This issue appears to be somewhat related to Feature #11494.

I went to the Tails website this morning looking for a direct link to the .iso and the .sig. To find it, I had to:

  • Open https://tails.boum.org/
  • Click the “Install Tails”-button
  • Click the “Journey”-button
  • Select my operating system (OS X, in this case)
  • Select the command line option
  • Click the “Let’s go!”-button

This took me to https://tails.boum.org/install/mac/usb/index.en.html

I expected to clearly see direct download links to the .iso and the .sig. Instead, I was presented with buttons that requested I install a Firefox add-on to automatically download and verify Tails. I later realized that direct downloads are still available under “Download and verify using OpenPGP.”

I understand that it’s challenging to create pages that are helpful to non-experts, while also giving experts the things they need. That said, the experience I had this morning left me with:

  1. Wow, that’s a lot of clicking around to get to the point where I can actually download Tails
  2. The link to the direct downloads does not stand out, making it easy to miss (even for experts - https://twitter.com/runasand/status/758620538625486848)
  3. By requesting that users install an add-on in the Tor Browser, you go directly against the recommendations made by The Tor Project: https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en#warning

Files

firefox.png (11373 B) sajolida, 2016-09-10 09:38:04
download-only.png (5253 B) sajolida, 2016-09-10 09:38:08

Subtasks

Related issues

Related to Tails - Feature #11493: Installation Assistant: please merge /install and /install/os Resolved 2016-05-27
Related to Tails - Feature #11494: Add a direct download link under the Install button in the Tails sidebar Rejected 2016-05-27

History

#1 Updated by sajolida 2016-08-01 12:48:00

  • Assignee set to sajolida

#2 Updated by intrigeri 2016-08-01 13:35:19

  • Category set to Installation

#3 Updated by SpencerOne 2016-08-08 02:24:01

The Tails sidebar download button [0] links to a wonderful splash page [1], yay!

The page presents the suggested ‘Let’s Start the [collect info and guide to appropriate instructions] Journey’ and ‘Download Only’ options.

Journey aside,

The ‘Download Only’ button links to the ‘Download & Verify’ page [2].

This page would benefit from having three equal options:
1. Install Firefox Add-on to Download & Verify [3]
2. Download .iso & .asc Directly [4]
3. Download .torrent File (which contains .iso & .asc) Directly [5]

Labels need some thought XD

[0]: https://tails.boum.org/
[1]: https://tails.boum.org/install/index.en.html
[2]: https://tails.boum.org/install/download/index.en.html
[3]: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/downloads/latest-beta/673020/addon-673020-latest.xpi
[4]: http://dl.amnesia.boum.org/tails/stable/tails-i386-*/
[5]: https://tails.boum.org/torrents/files/tails-i386-2.5.torrent

#4 Updated by sajolida 2016-09-10 09:20:57

  • related to Feature #11493: Installation Assistant: please merge /install and /install/os added

#5 Updated by sajolida 2016-09-10 09:32:44

  • related to Feature #11494: Add a direct download link under the Install button in the Tails sidebar added

#6 Updated by sajolida 2016-09-10 09:38:10

Hi Runa, and sorry for the delay in getting back to you (summer, etc.).

I’m the one to blame (together with tchou) for the design of the installation assistant. Shortly after releasing it we realized that it was more painful than needed for power user, though it was extremely useful and warmly welcome by newcomers. Since then we’re trying to find a better balance for power users to be less frustrated. We’re also desperately slow on this and I’m sorry about that. But we’ll get there…

One of the basic assumptions behind our design is to make it hard for people to download Tails without verifying. I know, this is kind of a dark pattern, but unverified downloads are unsafe (and HTTPS wouldn’t be sufficient) and also overload our help desk. What I’m interested in doing is to continue making things easier for power users who know OpenPGP already while not making it easier for lazy newcomers to shoot themselves in the foot because everybody will regret it later on.

The real solution to this being of course, to make the ISO verification invisible but automatic inside Tails Installer, see Feature #9798. But this will still take years.

A few minutes ago, I merged Bug #11024 which was about adding a link below the installation button for Firefox extension pointing to the OpenPGP verification. See firefox.png in attachment.

So the workflow for power users from the homepage to the ISO download is now:

  1. Click on “Install Tails”.
  2. Click on “Download only”. See download-only.png in attachment.
  3. Click on “Download and verify using OpenPGP”.
  4. Click on “Tails 2.5 ISO image”.

So 4 clicks, against 7 in your scenario.

Can you clarify whether the link in step 2 was already there when you tested or not? I think that you reported your bug shortly after I merged this, but I’d like your confirmation. If you missed it then we might have to work on its visibility. And I’d like to try this first before adding another alternative (“Install” vs “Download”) in our sidebar and thus on every single page of our website.

#7 Updated by sajolida 2016-09-19 13:04:12

  • Assignee changed from sajolida to runasand
  • QA Check set to Info Needed

#8 Updated by sajolida 2016-11-04 12:39:04

  • Affected tool set to Installation Assistant

#9 Updated by Anonymous 2017-06-27 15:37:54

  • Subject changed from Unsafe recommendation on download page, plus usability improvements to Consider easing access to the ISO for power users
  • Status changed from New to Confirmed
  • Assignee changed from runasand to sajolida
  • QA Check deleted (Info Needed)

I dont think it’s necessary to ask Runa about from when her bug report dates, as the current situation is clear: 4 clicks until we get to the direct download page.

From this bug report and many others about the same subject we’ve received, I wonder, if we still plan to ease access to the ISO any further for power users?

I’m renaming this ticket accordingly.

If not, I think we can close this ticket. Clearer proposals are tracked on related tickets.

#10 Updated by sajolida 2017-07-10 21:43:19

> I dont think it’s necessary to ask Runa about from when her bug report dates

I asked for this information to understand if she missed the “Download
only” link or if it was not present when she used that page. Knowing
this could lead to very different conclusions and solutions.

> as the current situation is clear: 4 clicks until we get to the direct
download page.

Number of clicks is not a usability metric per se but should only be
considered within the broader picture of how easy those clicks are and
for whom. In comparison, time to completion could be a usability metric.

That said, /install/download is currently 2 clicks away from / which
is what we expect most of our users to use. And the ISO image itself is
2 clicks further for users doing OpenPGP verification and comes along
with the detailed instructions they need.

On ubuntu.com the ISO is also 4 clicks away from /. So we’re not that crazy.

>>From this bug report and many others about the same subject we’ve received, I wonder, if we still plan to ease access to the ISO any further for power users?

Yes. That’s a recurring issue for power users in our intercept interviews.

Now, the question we need to answer is: how? Because the proposals I’ve
seen so far were not convincing. Some initial thoughts:

  • In Feature #11493 we could try to make the “Download only” link more visible.
  • In /install/download we might try to rephrase the “Download and verify
    using OpenPGP” to mention “direct” if we believe that power users who
    wouldn’t choose OpenPGP on their own deserve a direct link anyway.

Any other ideas?

#11 Updated by sajolida 2017-08-16 17:01:15

  • related to Bug #12328: Tails Verification: Migrate DAVE to Web Extensions and support Chrome added

#12 Updated by sajolida 2017-09-13 07:21:30

  • Target version set to Tails_3.3
  • Parent task set to Bug #14627

My current design proposal does just that :)

#13 Updated by sajolida 2017-11-09 18:10:36

#14 Updated by sajolida 2017-11-14 13:23:44

  • Target version changed from Tails_3.3 to Tails_3.5

#15 Updated by sajolida 2017-12-14 16:17:43

  • Subject changed from Consider easing access to the ISO for power users to Easing access to the ISO for power users
  • Status changed from Confirmed to Resolved
  • Assignee deleted (sajolida)

The new download page allows for direct download. I checked with the two power users that mentioned this issues in our intercept interviews and they said it was fixed for them now: https://tails.boum.org/blueprint/intercept_interviews (Alex and Helen).

#16 Updated by intrigeri 2017-12-14 16:24:24

Congrats!