Comment 54 for bug 48671

I just registered to discuss on this problem as well...
...because I see some neutral perspective missing. In this issue there is a lot to consider:

1st) is this feature disturbing to anyone?
answer: to some people it is

2nd) is this feature a useful one?
answer: arguable. on windows there are 4 ways to rename: right-click, edit-menu, 2nd-click, F2.

2.1 Let's say it is useful if a couple of users do like the 2nd-click way more than the other ways. (People don't essentially like that way more, because they do it this way) (- and no doubt, some use the 2nd-click way)
if - applying to 2.1 - it is useful, then everybody might agree that (at least as an option) this feature should be implemented.

2.1.1 must be mentioned, if we go by 2.1: if it's not useful according to 2.1 there is still the question if people, who use the 2nd-click method, know/find another method (quickly).
may 2.1 apply or not, if 2.1.1 applies then the feature must essentially be default due to accessibility. (everybody agrees?)

3rd) if the user has icons-, list- or context view enabled plays a role on the feeling of the feature.
the problem mentioned in (1) may (almost) not apply to people using the icons view. (everybody agrees?)

now just in case the feature will be introduced. according to (1) it will not be obligatory. issues to discuss (After 1-3) are:

4th) 4 is about Gnome: one of the Gnome ideas is to have as little settings gui as possible and make detail settings accessible via gconf. Is the 2nd-Click option worth another settings menu entry? (If it is not it would merge with the single-double-click option as 2nd-Click is barely possible with single-Click enabled)
AnsWer: in case of 4.1 it is. if 4.1 is not the case 4.1.1 must be discussed.

4.1 May any of both cases be default - Will it be a very lot users who would like to change the default option?
(answer according to assumption below: it will not.)

4.1.1 Do the few people who like to change the option know about gconf?
AnsWer: In case of the windows-like style being default. not many newbies will be likely to change the option, either because they think "in linux there must be a way to turn this off..." (i guess, that will not happen as there are other things to care about) or because they find that option when browsing the settings. so nobody, not knowing gconf, will miss this option. on the one hand some people might like finding exactly this option in the settings, on the other hand the menus get more crowded by it. 4.1.1 is about discussing a lot :P
AnsWer: In case of the 2nd-Click being disabled by default (so also 2.1.1 does not apply) more people will like to change this, because some do want to handle the system the way they learnt
sorry for 4.1.1 being that long and not all too important.

5th) What is ought to be the default? (hey, that rimes :D)
answer: most probably 2nd-Click should be default, because it not being default seems unlikely: 2.1 must apply and 2.1.1 not and my idea at (7) must be unappropriate and even if these three fallacies apply it is still worth a discussion to decide for 2nd-Click not being default.

(I leave out number 6 to have some distance to number 7)
7th) A bit another idea might be to have the 2nd-Click option stuck to the folder view option (and, of cause, to the single-double-click option). disadvantage: if someone inspects the 2nd-Click solution (which is unlikely to happen) he'll find weird dependencies.
the dependencie would be to have 2nd-Click turned off on compact- and list view. the people who usually use these views are likely to use right-click or F2 as they may be more advanced users and don't want to wait for the Double-Click time to expire. If someone has double-click activated and icon view active, also 2nd-Click might be present. In the icon view one is unlikely to click on the label (as assumed in earlier posts) and by making the cursor look like the 'editing-cursor' when moving over the label of an marked item, we could supply good understanding of the system's handling.

hope, you like that structure, hope, that structure helps.
now my opinion:
i guess the gnome-veterans are likely to have double-click turned off and single-click turned on. so the issue only affects gnome-newbies. (and if i guess wrong: most gnome-veterans might be capable of using gconf)
(some) newbies might be used to rename files by the "2nd-Click way" and should have an light-weight settings-menu. so i would keep the settings-menu light-weight and do not include an extra option. and the ones who don't like the 2nd-Click can turn it off.
however, the most important thing in my imagination is to keep the menu light-weight!
ok, and my dream would be, to have single-click default. btw (;
[tiny] for the BB. for the Bloody Beginners. sorry, finally i lost my earnestness (: [\tiny]

assumption from 4.1: I assume that those ones who were not happy about the 2nd-Click way in windows are likely to choose the single-Click option in linux. it's just a feeling I cannot explane. arguable, of cause.