On 23/07/13 04:36, Erik Moeller wrote:
- Section editing behavior - the hybrid link display is mildly
annoying, and doesn't work for touch interfaces;
I think it's a bit more than mildly annoying, and I think it's the main reason users are so desperate to disable VE completely instead of simply not clicking on it.
Consider it from a cognitive point of view:
Half the time (e.g. on talk pages), the section edit link will go to the old edit page, and the other half, it will flash an "edit source" link at you for the 100ms or so it takes to stabilise the cursor position and execute a mouse click, and then it will launch the visual editor. Often, the user is punished for clicking on the wrong link by having their browser lock up for 15 seconds.
Habit formation is cleverly avoided by changing the function of the link depending on what namespace you are on.
I know that this crafty UI was introduced to encourage users to use the new editor. The trouble is, this assumes that users have no idea which editor they want to use, and thus will happily use whatever editor the JS can trick them into clicking. But, I suspect, most users have decided which editor they want to use before they start moving their mouse.
I think users should be encouraged to use VE by making VE really awesome, and by promoting its awesomeness, rather than by trying to trick them into using it.
-- Tim Starling