Hi all, I don't see any messages about the Desktop Improvements to wikimedia-l, so I've decided to forward one from wikitech-l. If I understand correctly, Desktop Improvements are changes to the desktop version of the Vector skin, which are to be built throughout the next year, features being added one by one. Several wikis already enjoy them by default, and users of other wikis can find a respective tick in their preferences to make new Vector visible. Current features are said to not be permanent anyway but wouldn't it be good for more people to see them while they are still work in progress? See email text and links below. *--* *Vira Motorko // Віра Моторко* mobile: +380667740499 | facebook: vira.motorko <https://www.facebook.com/vira.motorko> | wikipedia: Ата <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ата> ---------- Forwarded message --------- Від: Olga Vasileva &lt;ovasileva(a)wikimedia.org&gt; Date: ср, 5 серп. 2020 о 15:33 Subject: [Wikitech-l] First desktop improvements features now available on early adopter wikis ---- Hi all, We’re happy to announce that the first two of many changes focused on improving the desktop experience of the Vector skin [1] have been released as a user preference to all projects and as default on a set of early adopter wikis: Basque, Farsi, French, and Hebrew Wikipedias, French Wiktionary, and Portuguese Wikiversity. Since its introduction in 2009, the Vector skin has changed little, while the needs of our readers and editors have shifted significantly, as have their expectations for a quality reading experience that focuses on the content itself. Over the next year, the readers web team [2] will be researching and building out improvements to the desktop experience based on research and existing tools built by our communities. Our goal is to create a more welcoming reading and editing experience - something that feels familiar yet makes it easier and quicker to read, edit, and perform common functionality. Our first change, a collapsible sidebar, allows users to collapse the lengthy menu on the left side of the page. We believe this change improves usability by allowing people to focus on the content itself - on reading, editing, or moderating. Our second change introduces a maximum line width to our content on pages such as article pages and discussion pages. Studies have shown that limiting the width can lead to better retention of content, as well as a decrease in eye strain You can opt into these features by unchecking “legacy vector” from the appearance tab of your user preferences. We’d also like to note that these are the first of a series of changes and, as such, their visual characteristics are not permanent. Also - there might be bugs. If you notice an issue or would like to learn more about the project itself - please head to our project page [3]. Thank you! Olga [1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Skin:Vector [2] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Readers/Web/Team [3] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements -- *Olga Vasileva* // Senior Product Manager // Web https://wikimediafoundation.org/ *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment. Donate <http://donate.wikimedia.org/>. * _______________________________________________ Wikitech-l mailing list Wikitech-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l