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Hi,
I went through some general thoughts about "system settings" or "settings" in general which let to some ideas in which direction it could be redesigned so that is better usable. This idea is not finally though through, also I lack some of the technical background, so I do not know if all of it is possible.

I started with:
- Looking through the existing system settings in order to suggest a new and better way of ordering it.

But then I stumbled on several problems doing that:
- There are several more places on a system where settings are done (In the panel, in applications, in widgets, may be even more). Not all of them make sense, would be there where a user would look. Also different users, depending on there experiences look at different places all the time.
- There is a conflict between power users and the average user in the terms of naming
- This conflict extends to the point that there is the belief that some settings are not meant to be for the average user or that he does not need them.
- It seems like settings are something which change the whole time from version to version depending on new technologies invented and better KDE integration. So if you find the perfect order or place for settings this needs to be redone all the time.

So I believe it would be good to have a kind of future prof way of managing settings. The following is what I came up with:
- All settings modules (in apps, widgets, system settings, where ever) should have tags for what they are (security, appearance, hardware). They should have more then one tag, because a lot of the settings modules are considered to belong to more then one a purpose. There could be also "warning" tags, so that certain settings/ settings modules give a warning, to ask if the user really knows what he is doing.
- The text of the settings-modules should be indexed in a) the language of the current locale, but also the English local (I explain later why).
Out of this you can generate a settings database which would be used to generate system settings.
There would be different view modes:
- tag-cloud: click on a tag to find all modules containing settings modules which have this tag.
- search: search a specific setting by using a search term. So you can find a setting which is hidden in a settings module. This by the way the reason why I suggest also indexing the English locale: It is the most common language, so someone who gives support can name the English search term, but it will show up in the local language.
- classic view. It has the problems as before, but some people will need it.
- this "classic view" can be customised by users, distributors or system admins.
- favourites: Favourite settings, like bookmarks.
- most common used: similar to favourites, but automatically generated.

Of course this approach is not only limited to system settings. At every place where settings are done, there could be a "more settings/other settings". This way of finding a setting could be integrated into Krunner, Kickoff-menu and the Panel. And application devs could provided a customised setting view in their app settings which contains settings which the user may search there, but are normally done at a different place in KDE.

That for now. I am not so good at making mock ups. The idea is not finished yet, but I hope gives some inspiration.

Mark

I will write another post which contains suggestion on the naming and sorting of settings modules. The more conventional approach, but may be also useful, even though was not satisfied with it.