More than most systems, Boxer depends on a wide variety of users having “good” personal experiences using, modifying, and creating computational objects: tools, documents, microworlds, etc. But what are the actual experiences Boxer users have had, and how do they depend on Boxer’s technical characteristics? This talk will dip a “toe into” to these complex waters.

I discuss (and defend as general, in different ways for different users) a number of experiences I have had that have been striking to me. First, I will discuss “organic, long-term growth.” I have several personal Boxer creations that have been part of my life for years or even decades. They have resulted in an “archeological” style of document, with layers of history buried (but accessible) behind a façade of current goals and techniques. The second style of experience I describe as “leverage,” wherein a small amount of work on my part has enabled extended and (I judge) powerful work by others. The third type of experience is “menial utility,” wherein Boxer structures efficiently enable everyday tasks in ways beyond, for example, paper and pencil or narrowly targeted “productivity” applications.