This task involves the work with publishing the design approach we will be following for the set of set of Usability Improvements we will be implementing.
Objectives
Below is a list of what we are seeking to learn in this first set of conversations we will be having with volunteers at mediawiki.org and other projects (see T296357) about Topic Containers (T269950).
What we are seeking to learn?
- Of the design approaches we are exploring to make it easier for A) Junior Contributors to recognize talk pages and containing conversations and B) Senior Contributors to assess the level of activity on a given talk page, what aspects of them do volunteers find most effective? What do volunteers wish were different about the design approaches? What do volunteers find unexpected about the design approaches?
- How – if at all – might existing workflows/conventions/gadgets/etc. be impacted by Topic Containers?
Requirements
A series of rough design concepts that show the following on mobile and desktop:
- 1. Screenshot showing talk pages without [ reply ] or [ subscribe ] affordances
- 2. An annotated version of "1." that illustrates the issues with the legacy talk page experience. E.g. People found it difficult to know how to respond. People found it difficult to know how to start a new discussion [on desktop]. People do not recognize talk pages as containing conversations. Etc.
- 3. Screenshot showing talk pages with [ reply ] or [ subscribe ] affordances
- 4. Screenshots showing talk pages with Topic Containers (section title styling, actions (edit, subscribe), metadata (number of comments, date last comment was posted, number of people participating in the discussion), collapsable sections)
- Ideally, we're able to share at least three Topic Container approaches. Some directions we might explore:
- Where does metadata about the discussion go within the Topic Container? Is it right justified? Is it beneath the discussion title?
- Where does [ edit ] shown? Might it go within an overflow menu?
- In what ways might discussion titles be styled so they obviously appear as distinct from section titles in the main namespace? Type? Background colors?
- Is the `[ subscribe ] affordance text? Is it an icon?
- Ideally, we're able to share at least three Topic Container approaches. Some directions we might explore:
Feedback
We are logging feedback in this Google Sheet: Talk Pages Project/Usability Improvements Feedback.
Done
- An artifact that fulfills the ===Requirements above is published to mw:Talk pages project/Usability#Design
- The feedback volunteers share is documented in the ===Feedback section above