Wikipedia is getting its first desktop redesign in 10 years

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by guest, Sep 23, 2020.

  1. guest

    guest Guest

    Wikipedia is getting its first desktop redesign in 10 years
    The entire redesign should be complete by the end of 2021
    September 23, 2020
    https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/23/21453300/wikipedia-desktop-redesign-2021
    Wikimedia Foundation: Wikipedia is getting a new look for the first time in 10 years. Here’s why.
     
  2. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Not sure what to think about this, let's hope they don't mess things up, because this could be a case of don't try to fix things that aren't broken.
     
  3. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

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    Looks good, a lot of improvements for better usability and direct access.
     
  4. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    My feelings exactly.
     
  5. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

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    +1
     
  6. misterman2100

    misterman2100 Registered Member

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    Totally agree.
     
  7. guest

    guest Guest

    Wikipedia's first desktop design update in a decade doesn't rock the boat
    By Jon Fingas @jonfingas - January 18, 2023
    Wikimedia Foundation: Wikipedia Gets a Fresh New Look: First Desktop Update in a Decade Puts Usability at the Forefront
     
  8. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    On first sight, I'm not too happy with it. I don't like the big sidebar which leaves less room for text. Seriously, the world has a lack of web designers who actually know how to develop good looking and handy, non cluttered websites. I just visited bloomberg.com and I couldn't believe my eyes, what a mess!
     
  9. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

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    The 'Toggle limited content width' button (bottom right corner) helps a bit, it removes empty space on both sides, but the left sidebar is still needlessly wide.
     
  10. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    I don't think it looks too bad. I'm more disappointed that it is accepted as the standard for an encyclopedia these days when several years ago it was not considered reliable enough to quote from for research papers and such. I don't think it's any better today, there is just nothing else left.
     
  11. longshots

    longshots Registered Member

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    One of the reasons being this is a mammoth task that requires one basic resource - money.
    Regular users will be aware of the pleas for donations that are appearing more and more often.
     
  12. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    I am kind of surprised that it is considered a reliable source of information by anyone when Wikipedia itself does not permit citations from its own articles.
    Here is a general disclaimer by Wikipedia for anyone using Wikipedia.

    Apart from that I am OK with the redesign. It is not a radical change, in fact they did not change much, which is a good thing. If someone does not like the new look they can always change back to the old one by choosing Preference>Appearance>Skin>Vector legacy (2010)
     
  13. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    The sidebar can be hidden, but then it leaves big empty margins on the left and right. I do not know why they designed it like this unless they are planning to put ads there in the future.

    Edit: Never mind, I was was able to adjust the margin width by unchecking the "Enable limited width mode" option under Preferences>Appearance>Skin Preferences. The articles now fill the entire width of my screen with the sidebar hidden.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2023
  14. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Good point. I miss professionally written hard copy encyclopedias. I guess they can be found used.
     
  15. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    How to hide this sidebar? I don't see any options.
     
  16. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

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    Thanks very much for mentioning, I had overlooked that option.
    At the top of the sidebar, there is "Contents [hide]".
    Click 'hide' to hide the sidebar.
    Sidebar contents are now accessible by the 'hamburger' menu's.
    The 'Toggle limited content width' (bottom right corner) together with the 'hide sidebar contents' option fills the page out nicely.
     
  17. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I don't get to see it, do you need to be logged in or what? I see no options on top or bottom of the page.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix
     
  18. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

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    Could it be different in different browsers? I use Firefox 109.0 (snap, Kubuntu).
    I see "Contents [hide]" in the (left) sidebar.
    In the bottom right corner I see a square that with mouseover shows "Toggle limited content width".
     
  19. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Weird, I didn't see it in Vivaldi, but it was because of uBlock, don't ask me how this is possible. Now I do get to see the ''hide sidebar'' option, but no ''toggle limited content.'' I will take another look on other pages.
     
  20. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    I don't see a "toggle limited content width" square anywhere on my screen as well. I am on Firefox 107.0.1 (Windows). Disabling uBlock origin does not show that button either. It is strange but maybe the website appears differently to same browsers from different OS's.

    However, I believe that toggle button has the same effect as unchecking the "Enable limited width mode" option under Preferences>Appearance>Skin Preferences.
     
  21. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Me too. I used to love browsing encyclopedias in a library when I was a kid. The big problem now with hard copy encyclopedias is that they are no longer updated. Collier's Encyclopedia's last hard copy was in 1997, before they got bought out by Microsoft and became Encarta. Encyclopedia Americana's last hard copy was in 2006 and Britannica's was in 2010. Thankfully the last two are still being updated and available as a subscription online, but I haven't felt the need to buy a subscription. It most likely is because of Wikipedia and the internet in general, I can always find good authoritative articles, if not at Wikipedia, then somewhere else online nowadays.
     
  22. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

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    Preferences > Appearance > Skin Preferences > (uncheck) Enable limited width mode, are preferences that I don't see in Wikipedia, on Firefox 109.0 snap on Kubuntu.
     
  23. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    That's what I don't like. Books don't get updated but the internet could say something different every day. I don't think it's actually that bad but it could be and how many would notice?
     
  24. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    So I did some testing, installed a portable version of Firefox 109 and 104, with clean profiles, and the toggle button is available on both. So it must be some setting in my current profile that is blocking the button for me. The preference "Enable limited width mode", under "Preferences>Appearance>Skin Preferences" was available on both 109 and 104 for me. This was on 64 bit version of Firefox on Windows 10.

    Edit: I tested under a VM on Firefox 109, snap Ubuntu and that preference "Enable limited width mode" is present on the snap version of Firefox.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2023
  25. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    You are right. When I am trying to learn something new, I usually consult 3-4 articles on different but trustworthy websites. It has served me well. This way firstly, it gets rid of bias and secondly, in between 4 authors, if one missed something, chances are the others will probably include it in their articles.
     
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