[Wikimedia-l] the hidden toolbox

[Andrew Gray]

On 17 September 2012 19:27, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com <javascript:;>>
wrote:
> On 17 September 2012 18:03, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com <javascript:;>>
wrote:
>
>> Naturally every link wants to escape from the toolbox, if it's collapsed
>> :-)
>> They were designed to be used, after all.
>> I also haven't seen any solid argument for collapsing any navboxes by
>> default (except perhaps those in the topnav which pop up on mouseover).
>
> It was one of the usability ideas from the Vector team. Apparently
> features confuse users.

I think it's not unreasonable to say "every extra word in the interface
makes the interface a tiny bit more confusing" - one of the eternal
problems of our interface is excessive and disorienting clutter. It's great
if you're used to it - it's always impressive to watch an experienced
Wikipedian navigate a site in an entirely different language and script
just by knowing where things are - but it's a pretty daunting thing to
start with.

I don't know if a collapsed toolbox is the best way to do it (perhaps a top
drop-down, like the gadgets option, would be better) but it's an attempt at
solving the overload problem.

--
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk <javascript:;>


-- 
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk