User blog comment:Sannse/Your First Look at the New Wikia/@comment-129646-20100824101616

Firstly, let me say that I do not usually get involved in - or comment on - aspects of Wikia such as this, but after viewing the images available, the FAQ, and reading some of the comments posted here, I feel I need to comment.

I understand the basic need to upgrade software and to develop new ideas, and know that, realistically, Wikia will not remain the same throughout its operational life. That said, change for the sake of change is wrong. Just because you can do a thing, doesn't mean that you must do that thing.

Wikia is not Facebook. It is not Wordpress. I did not join the Wikia community to socially interact with other users, earn badges or edit points, "like" posts, or write a blog about the amazing day I just had. I join Wikia to edit articles. To contribute to encyclopaedic content on specialised subjects. Why Wikia seems to be obsessed with adding elements from social networking and blog sites is beyond me. Surely the content of the articles - what Wikia is known for, and what most, if not all, of us joined up for - is the most important thing?

Some comments/ questions on this new design:

The top navigation bar: Why does it have to be that big with Wikia links all along it? What is in the drop down menu by the user name? Is it the links to the User page, Home page, Talk page, etc? And, if so, why are the internal links valued less that the Wikia external links? Surely one link to Wikia is enough, combined with the "create a new wiki" option? How is it more efficient to have to click two buttons to get to your own talk page?

Links next to Wiki name/logo: What do these link to? Top categories? What purpose does that serve?

Edit drop down menu: What is contained in here? All of the current editing options? Is the move button in here, and the delete button for those of us with SysOps? Again, how is it more efficient to have to click two links to perform a task when one will suffice? And, while we're on the subject, where is the link to the article talk page? And the history?

Comments: Comments on the article? Seriously? This is one of the worst ideas ever. Now you're just abandoning all pretense of these articles being encyclopaedic. Or is this replacing the talk page? I cannot stress just how bad I think this idea is. I will personally be deleting any comments on articles on any Wiki I have rights on.

Last edited by/ categories: At the top of the page? Why? What purpose do they serve there? Articles are about the content, not the contributor.

Article space: Too small. Again, article content should take precedence. A fixed width is not a good idea, either. I notice that this image includes no templates; no infobox or the like. Will these still be supported in the new design? Also, no Table of Contents. Is that because the article shown is small enough not to need one, or is it being removed?

Image in article: Why list who uploaded it? What purpose does this serve?

Sidebar navigation: Firstly, left or right bar makes no difference to me. But the one shown in the image is too large and focuses on unnecessary details. Where is the link to the Recent Changes page for example? I know Sannse posted: "We aren't removing Recent Changes. That's way too useful for sure. You will be able to get to that page via a link on the Activity Feed, or via your toolbox (or via a bookmark or shortcut of course)." But, shouldn't a link to a useful page ... indeed, the main page most of us probably go to first when we log on ... be prominent and easily accessible? Will there be options to change the boxes in the toolbar to better emulate the current skins? And what is the box just below the photo? A Wikia newsfeed? Also, I hate floating toolbars. They are distracting and unnecessary. An option to turn that off should be standard.

Bottom toolbar: A like button? Again, Wikia is not Facebook or a blog. Please do not trying turning into something that you are not. And the tools button - again, how is it more efficient to click two buttons instead of one to get to a desired page?

On the face of it, this new design favours external linking to the rest of Wikia over the internal needs of the individual wikis. While I understand Wikia's desire to cross-prompt other wikis, it should not do so at the expense of the wiki itself. So this change is mandatory, and we have no real say. What if 100% of users were opposed? Would it still go ahead? And I think this is a slap in the face to those Wikis with individual themes and skins that they have worked hard on to have to change their design because of this new change. Will each Wiki get help in changing their design, or will we be expected to "learn as we go"?

I understand the desire for a clean design as well, but simply hiding links to pages that are easily accessible in the current design is, quite frankly, inefficient. These are pages that users use every day, so they should remain visible and easily accessible.

I'm sorry if this is soundly over critical, but the questions must be asked. When this rolls out - and, to be honest, I hope it doesn't in its current incarnation - the communities I administrate will be looking to me for the answers and I need to have them to hand.