Forum:Sidebar Cluttered

The sidebar really feels too cluttered. With the mandatory MyHome, Magazine Creator, Spotlight, Wikianswers, and Related Community widgets, it's all a bit excessive. -- LordTBT Talk! 01:05, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * I second that motion. 01:07, November 17, 2009 (UTC)


 * Wikianswers, Related Community, and Magazine are closeable, so how are those required? --Uberfuzzy 01:30, November 17, 2009 (UTC)


 * What? There is no X in any of those boxes. -- LordTBT Talk! 01:34, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * I see Xs... 01:34, November 17, 2009 (UTC)

LordTBT, screenshot please... --Uberfuzzy 01:44, November 17, 2009 (UTC)


 * Are the Xs supposed to be visible on a logged out screen? I'm talking first reader impressions. -- LordTBT Talk! 01:48, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * No, because there is no place for the state of that data to be stored. Like skin choice, its all stored in profile, and anon dont have a profile, so no customization. You never said anything about being logged out. --Uberfuzzy 02:00, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * So the view of the anonymous browser isn't taken into perspective? If someone is just browsing the site unregistered, they may think this load of stuff is always going to be there, thus why register? Try looking at the site objectively, from the anon pov. -- LordTBT Talk! 09:38, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * It might have been overlooked in our spree of recent launches. It is certainly worth brining up to the support team to re-evaluate the current list of defaults piled on from each product. It also is another good reason (if the choice of skin theme, and almost 0 ads wasnt enough) for people to create an account and login. --Uberfuzzy 11:11, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * I view the sidebar clutter as an opportunity to promote registration as one way to customize a visitor's browsing experience.
 * There is no reason why a registered user should not copy and paste a recommended block of code into their personal Monaco.css to let that code hide/filter all unilaterally pushed content currently found in the sidebar (or anywhere else for that matter). Let's face it the only necessary content are the Navigation side bar and at some wikis, the Monaco tool box. By leaving that choice to each user I believe you have honored your agreement with Wikia to not block their revenue making methods.
 * The optional sidebar widgets are another incentive for registration.
 * Make use of the Guided Tour feature to draw attention to the fact that the sidebar (or entire skin) can be customized to the user's taste if they simply create an account and log in automatically each visit.
 * The way I see it is Wikia benefit as the number of registered users grow because they can boast this number as an indicator of market reach when promoting the Wikia communities to paying advertisers. So it becomes a win-win situation when each community encourages casual browsers to register.
 * -- najevi 14:39, November 17, 2009 (UTC)