New Wikipedia homepage

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quickymart

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#303183 22-Jan-2023 20:02

What genius dreamed this one up? There was nothing wrong with the old layout - search bar at the top right, menu already loaded and ready to go on the left, and the font was bigger and easier to read.

No option to go back to the old layout either, sigh.

How are frequent Wikipedia users finding this? Is it an improvement to you, or am I alone in my criticism?

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#3025604 22-Jan-2023 20:12

I agree, it's a step backwards, but can be changed.

Preferences > Appearance > Skin

Select "Vector legacy (2010)" which should get you back to the old look.

#include <standard.disclaimer>

Behodar

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#3025610 22-Jan-2023 20:37

As far as I'm aware, practically nobody was criticising the old layout, yet they still felt the need to change it. Thankfully as mentioned there's an option to change it back.

When I clicked a link to an article earlier, I thought I'd ended up on the phone version of the site. The biggest annoyance for me is that on the new site the text refuses to fill the window.

quickymart

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#3025618 22-Jan-2023 21:12

alexx:

I agree, it's a step backwards, but can be changed.

Preferences > Appearance > Skin

Select "Vector legacy (2010)" which should get you back to the old look.

Great, thanks for that - that looks awesome now. Problem is sometimes I'm not using my machine so not logged in; is there any option to make it look like this if you're not logged in (or using another machine)?

timmmay

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#3025621 22-Jan-2023 21:17

The 1980s called, they want their HTML back.

gzt

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#3025634 22-Jan-2023 23:21

I rarely see the front page. I'm not sure I see any difference?

One thing that has bugged me on mobile and it hasn't changed - (a} the first two or three sections are not collapsible and are not collapsed by default. On large articles equals too much scrolling to get to the sections. (b) even then - there is no table of contents in portrait mode (c) tbh I want the table of contents at the top but a and b are more important to me.

I'm not going to complain too much. I only give it $3 a month.

gzt

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#3025635 22-Jan-2023 23:31

timmmay: The 1980s called, they want their HTML back.

HTML was originated by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. We've come a long way in a short time. Wikipedia in 2001.

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Behodar

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#3025646 23-Jan-2023 07:39

gzt: I rarely see the front page. I'm not sure I see any difference?

It's not just the front page; it's article pages too. It doesn't seem to have applied everywhere at once though.

MikeB4

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#3025658 23-Jan-2023 08:57

I don’t care about it. I visit for stuff not to linger and gaze at the front page. Probably they the funds for glitz and flashy lights given the survive off goodwill and alms.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

ripdog

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#3025660 23-Jan-2023 09:02

Sorry, what are we complaining about this time?

The search bar and left menu are still fully available. If the text is too small, press ctrl and +.

Even the slightest design changes cause these kinds of inane posts... I guess folks have got to have something to moan about.

The new sticky menu is a huge usability upgrade, and the whole thing looks nice. Kudos to the Wikimedia team.

MurrayM

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#3025665 23-Jan-2023 09:11

ripdog:

The new sticky menu is a huge usability upgrade, and the whole thing looks nice. Kudos to the Wikimedia team.

I agree, I think the redesign is an improvement over the old one.

rb99

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#3025671 23-Jan-2023 09:17

I click on Mobile View and it looks exactly the same.

And I can't even find preferences - guess you have to be logged in ? (which isn't going to happen).

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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Journeyman

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#3025777 23-Jan-2023 14:37

Looks fine to me. In terms of website redesigns, this one is pretty mild.

djtOtago

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#3025789 23-Jan-2023 15:14

New design works well when viewed on my monitors.
Doesn't work so well on my laptop (3:2 ratio screen). Text too small and compressed to easily skim read down a page. I know I can zoom the page, but why should I have too.

Would be nice to have an option to allow the content section to be full screen width. Or at least change some of the CSS rules around how it renders on different size screens.

gzt

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#3025807 23-Jan-2023 15:48

MikeB4: Probably they the funds for glitz and flashy lights given the survive off goodwill and alms.

imo main reason is many people don't have the network data or computing power to deal with excessive JavaScript and CSS processing. It is a key part of Wikipedia's mission to continue to reach those people.

Aaron2222

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#3025893 23-Jan-2023 18:11

Behodar:

gzt: I rarely see the front page. I'm not sure I see any difference?

It's not just the front page; it's article pages too. It doesn't seem to have applied everywhere at once though.

Apparently they cache article pages for non logged-in users, and that cache might not be updated for a few days if the article hasn't changed.

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