[ZeroGravitas]

When did OpenOffice become a shorthand for 'bad usability'?

I mean they're basically just cloning Microsoft Office (There's a joke there but I'll avoid it). I can think of a bunch of problems with OpenOffice but I've never felt they had a particular problem with usability, not compared with Microsoft Office nor with your average Windows or Linux app.

Don't get me wrong there is always room for improvement and they used to do some crazy stuff years back (like have their own desktop) but I'm fairly certain that's in the past.

[TravisLS]

The problem is that they're "basically just cloning microsoft office". No good usability work comes from basically cloning.

Taking ideas / inspiration from Microsoft Office is great, it's a successful product. But basically cloning just means it works sort of like office, but different enough to be annoying, with no attention paid to designing the overall user experience. It's the same reason Gimp is such a nightmare for Photoshop users.

[warfangle]

Gimp isn't a nightmare for Photoshop users just because of usability. It's a nightmare for Photoshop users because most of the features we rely on (say, layer grouping and layer blending effects) are flat out missing.