This is an interesting discussion. Let's continue it more as if we were
sharing a table with pencils or dinner plates, aiming to get together to
the best conclusions we can produce -- less as if we were in a tribunal or
a senate trying to see how is more right.
Post by Federico Leva (Nemo)Thanks Kairy for explaining more. I still don't know what happened. If
something was merged or coded, please link patches. If something was
decided, please link the decision.
I think what happened is that there are different approaches (desktop,
mobile web, mobile app, and a world out there) and Kaity and others are
trying to find the right approach.
Post by Federico Leva (Nemo)Post by Kaity HammersteinHere is a screenshot of the mobile web interface, and a screenshot of
the app interface. In the app, it is much easier to quickly determine
the meaning of the article.
I'd say the contrary: for instance the app doesn't show a warning present
on the page, which makes it harder to understand the real meaning (value,
status) of the page.
Ok, this is a good point. But Kaity's is also a good point (the amount of
objects before getting to the information is not particularly useful
either). Maybe a clickable "!" icon in the right location could bring back
the accuracy while keeping the clean design?
Post by Federico Leva (Nemo)In your screenshots, apart from everything being so hard to read
because of the flashy colours which made me blind for a second, the first
thing I notice is the space taken by the search bar and the silly text flow
around images (and tables).
This is your opinion and your wording, but let's see.
The mobile app approach clearly bets on promoting the first image when
available, which makes sense for devices with shiny color screens like most
mobile devices with web browsers nowadays, makes sense for a movement that
puts an emphasis on free media beyond text, and makes sense for 2015 and a
tradition of online and printed publishing. It is a bet with some risks,
but imho a more interesting bet than continuing with the just too grey
(again imho) and uniform mobile web UI.
About the 'hard to read' the mockup doesn't have a darker gradient under
the title text, but the mobile app does have it, and after dozens of random
articles, I would say the problem is well solved. 'space taken by the
search bar' looks like a smaller problem that allows fine tuning if needed.
About 'silly text flow', I don't see why flowing text is silly in a
constrained surface. It seems to be eating space of only the first line of
text, and it looks like an idea worth testing instead of dismissing
beforehand. Also very important, you may or may not be aware that calling
'silly' something might be perceived just like calling 'silly' the
person(s) who worked on that something. There is no need for this, we are
all trying to contribute our best.
Post by Federico Leva (Nemo)If your point is that a certain number of pixels in heights can be
saved in favour of text, it's not clear to me why focus on the smallest
item first. I suggest to
a) compare apples to apples (i.e. your screenshot includes a location bar
which is not relevant in a comparison to the app),
b) identify which are the biggest wins possible and at what cost,
Kaity's point as described previously is "what readers see when they first
arrive at an article". Therefore, as far as I understand her comments, this
is not about saving pixels in heights to squeeze more text, but about
providing a natural path for the reader (background illustration - title -
content), removing the many obstacles we have now, and pushing them down or
to the side.
Post by Federico Leva (Nemo)c) communicate your findings clearly (e.g. in a phabricator report).
Yes, I agree that discussing work in editable tasks that can link to
mockups, subtasks, plans, etc, are better than discussing work in mailing
lists.
PS: I agree with Nemo and bawolff that the current wording of "Last edited
by..." highlights the elements that are perhaps less relevant. Still, the
purpose of that object is correct (telling to the readers that such
articles have been created by people like them). Have other text
alternatives been considered? What about something like "Created by NN
volunteers or more".