-----Original Message-----
From: foundation-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:foundation-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf
Of Virgil Ierubino
Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2007 12:31 AM
To: wikitech-l(a)wikimedia.org; wikipedia-l(a)wikimedia.org;
foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org
Subject: [Foundation-l] Why is MediaWiki so low-tech?
Why is MediaWiki so low-tech?
I understand the imperitive for maximal accessibility, but is
it not also true that, these days, fewer and fewer people are
using browsers that can't handle advanced features? The fact
of the matter is that a website's
*usability* is improved by taking advantage of the
higher-tech architecture that modern browsers allow you to
use. Can't MediaWiki default to its current state, but offer
a per-user preference to turn on advanced options?
Look at a site like Facebook, (
http://www.facebook.com), for
example, which is possibly one of the most beautifully
constructed websites I have ever encountered. It is simple in
layout and ridiculously easy to use on account of very good
design, and the use of advanced code generating popups,
immediate editing, etc. Furthermore their code is pristine; I
have never seen an error, even in the advanced features, on
any browser.
The kind of MediaWiki advanced features I'm talking about
could be something like instant editing. Think about if
you're reading a long section of an article, and midway down
there's a spelling error. There are so many reasons to not
fix it: you'd have to scroll up to click the edit link on
that section, you'd have to wait for it to load, you'd have
to find the place again in the edit box, you'd have to wait
for it to load again, and all this time you won't be able to
continue reading your article, and you'll have lost your
place. What if you could just click next to the relevant
paragraph, turning it into an edit box on the same page - no
loading - edit it, save it, and never once have to switch
page. Something similar to the way you can edit posts in
vBulletin without having to change pages. I know for sure
that a feature like this would double the speed at which (and
the likelihood of which) articles are improved.
Obviously once you accept the usage of advanced elements like
this there's no stopping how much easier you can make the
site, and how user friendly. If the only grounds to not
include this kind of feature are accessibility, just put each
feature on a switch in user preferences.
_______________________________________________
foundation-l mailing list
foundation-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
___________________________________________________
您的生活即時通 - 溝通、娛樂、生活、工作一次搞定!