User blog comment:Rupert Giles/Prototype for a new article layout/@comment-68.108.23.15-20150119201044/@comment-24416108-20150119231845

I know they can, but the way they're doing it isn't really neat - even if your long-term plan is allowing more choice by allowing lua - great, but does that have to go at the cost of the current existing extend?

I've been active for 7 months, and admin for 6. I've made over 7500 edits, and just for the wiki, I've learned quite a bit of javascript, along with reading up on CSS and HTML, while also having to learn wikimedia ways to do stuff. That's a lot. Look what the new style does:

Right now, there's a nice page, showing small tables for spells and like structures for units. On top of that there's JS to support showing most variants of what a unit can be in the game, with the option to switch over. Also, all of those can be displayed in a tooltip easy as.

However, with the changes, the layout is practically gone. There are some easy fixes possible - the table coloring can be repaired with some CSS, for example. However, there are 1000+ smaller templates and around 160 larger ones that will all need to be individually adjusted. The only thing still working is the JS. - Also, for some of the things they were talking about being improved, like more article space(reason for removal of the right rail), are completely nullified, in this case by the enormous font size, and by the margins on the side(I mean, really? they're 1,5 times thicker than even the global navigation!). Not even talking about the AD plans described above. (I understand the need, just not the intended changes.)

If they force-implement it for desktops, they're going to need to change quite a few issues.  Overall, maintain a side-wide article look around equal of the current one. I'm talking about pure article space here, not the surroundings. This means for example changing back the font size.  Offer basic+ support for updating the templates. (The unit templates all used to fit in a Tooltip on the above links. Now they don't - go to the Lesser Shadow Stalker unit on the above changes. It has Scoundrel and Shadow Stalker in tooltips, neither of which fit on screen in the new skin.) Fix the hover menu's. I think that in time, I'm gonna like the tools on the side. however, the current hover mechanics are weird, like new menu's spawning from the top option instead of the hovered one, and the menu having the same background color as the rest of the wiki, which makes them nearly invisible. For my wiki(a light one), a few shades darker could work, but maybe this just needs to be a setting in theme designer.

Or, alternatively:

Make this skin default, but keep the current one as an option. If this happens, I swear I will try and defend almost every single decision they make. --- As a side note, I'm regarding the new Global Nav to be a part of the new article style - and a step in the wrong direction. At the very least, give it A) the option to have it scroll away, or B) change it's background color to the rest of the given wiki. I've disabled it on my own wiki(just for myself), just for being so much of an eyesore. The only thing I miss is the search function, TBH. --

All together, IMO it's bad form to give us a trial version that has a couple of these stupid errors, and announce casually that it's going to be forced, and going to place ads inside the article space. I'd even prefer a side rail Dedicated to Advertisements over ad's inside the article space. (Sorry for the wall of text. I got a bit carried away.)