User blog comment:Brandon Rhea/New Page and Article Headers: Official Release Date/@comment-3218221-20170523030404

One of my qualms with the header modernization has been the wiki name automatically included to the right of the wordmark...I did see the comment about visual accessibility, and I of course am all for it, but I do question the absence of an option to toggle it on or off, at the very least. To at least entrust wiki admins with the option to personally evaluate the readability of their wordmarks, rather than assume they're all inaccessible. What about those wikis that never use wordmarks and always stick with the default text? Do they also have the duplicated title, even when it's unnecessary?

I suppose I'd be a little less skeptical about it if we had the option to at least customize the title slightly. Not so much that it would defeat the purpose of the title (which appears to be visual accessibility) but at least the option to pick from pre-approved accessible fonts...the current font as it stands feels almost too modern, and by that I mean it will clash with some wiki's styles/layouts. Like mine, potentially. It may not 'fit.'

 Well, perhaps that argument is weak; it would naturally have to extend to the rest of the header and the font used for the drop down titles. And, as you've already stated, you don't plan on giving us much in the way of (CSS/JS) customization options for headers... really? Really. Excuse me for raising an eyebrow at the point that "too much customization might confuse users." Well, perhaps, but for goodness sakes...what about the wikis that don't use 'too much'? What if they use 'the right amount'? Is changing the drop-down fonts or...border shapes (or something) going to confuse users? I often suspect that you don't give users enough credit, but I also wonder if you're not giving editors enough credit in the ways of judgment skills and common sense.

But there are other things I'm more concerned about, such as the whole "listing categories above article titles as navigational headers" decision. Urgh. That...I'm not a fan of that at all. If you're so dead set on it, can't you at least make that optional? Can't you at least give wikis the ability to choose whether or not they want categories listed on top as well as the bottom?

I prefer the edit button's current location to moving it over to the right like that...but again, perhaps that's a small quibble. I don't know. I'm just...frustrated by the way customability and wiki autonomy seem to be continually reduced through modernization efforts. Wiki admins should be able to judge what's best for their wikis - you won't to modernize, that's fine, but modernization should allow for and facilitate customization. Variety among wiki appearances is a desirable thing, you know? It gives you the opportunity to say, "Look at how varied and distinctive our wikis are - look at the creativity we facilitate." Restricting that visual variation - reducing the options for variation - assuming that you know better than the wiki admins do as to what is and isn't best for their wikis ... taking away our ability to choose...

...It's somewhat disheartening.