[Wikimedia-l] Apparently, Wikipedia is ugly

[Michel Vuijlsteke]

On 25 July 2012 22:04, Thomas Morton <morton.thomas at googlemail.com> wrote:

> On 25 July 2012 21:01, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > (This is why I'm so disappointed the mobile app doesn't do editing,
> > for example. Or, indeed, some way to take a photo and quickly add it
> > to an article.)
> >
> Yes.
>
> We also need to be understanding of the "99%" - the ones who just want to
> read.
>
> Our interface should suit the reader - with a prominent prompt to edit.
> Which once clicked opens things up into the world of editing Wikipedia.
>
> But if you don't click that prompt then you don't get useless fluff to
> distract you.
>
> This all ties back to my view that we don't think of the average reader
> enough :)
>

I totally agree.
With the one caveat that it's both tempting and dangerous to speak of or
design for "the average reader".

The average car driver, as the joke goes, wants a car that's fast and
flashy, and comfortable and safe, with a large trunk and room for kids,
that looks sexy, gets great mileage and does 0-90 in however few seconds is
impressive enough. And then you end up with The Homer (
http://imgur.com/PO22S) -- a car that should in theory be everything for
everyone, but in fact is nothing for no-one. :)

And that's why interaction designers develop personas and write scenarios
of use, do mock-ups and prototypes, etc. etc.

Michel