[Wikipedia-l] Cologne Blue

[Ray Saintonge]

Neil Harris wrote:

> tarquin wrote:
>
>> Cologne Blue is really nice.
>> I have a few reservations about it though:
>> * it's a pity it doesn't include the Wikipedia logo
>> * It could be just habit, but I was lost in the sidebar. Lots of 
>> Windows95-style "My Settings" and "My Page" etc. It took me ages to 
>> find "diff". Like I said, that could be habit.
>> * lastly, and most importantly it's hard to read because it uses a 
>> sans serif font. For encyclopedia articles with large blocks of text, 
>> legibility is very important. I've just switched back to default 
>> because I was finding it hard to focus, & my reading speed has 
>> increased immediately.
>>
>> Overall, it's a super layout, much more welcoming & less 
>> "techy"-feeling than the default.
>>
>> tarquin
>>
> It's a lovely layout, but it's missing some usability engineering. I 
> agree that we should shift to something as well designed as this, but 
> please let's not make it the default skin just yet.
>
> When we have server logs from the 'new' Wikipedia, we can consider 
> doing some optimization, and then releasing a tuned version.
>
> Neil
>
It's all very nice, but most human users are creatures of habit.  There 
comes a point in the face of rapid technological development when you 
just don't want to learn any more.  When I went to Netscape 6, I 
immediately switched the appearance back to the classic presentation.  I 
also consistently use the File Manager from Dos 3.2.  Better looks do 
not justify the loss of familiarity.
Eclecticology