User blog comment:Rupert Giles/Global Navigation Update/@comment-3279487-20141208010714

I'd like to say something on the whole "imposed changes" argument: just because everyone can edit on Wikia and everyone use Wikia freely (*cough*ADs aside*cough*), that doesn't mean that Wikia belongs to the users or that was "made" by the users, and by "Wikia" I'm talking about the site/interface/software itself. For this reason, nobody can blame them if they decide to change something. I always prefer to give users more choice, so when Wikia release a new extension it is always a good thing to make it optional (even if it's great, it probably can never works for every wiki). That said, being the search bar a "core mediawiki function", I don't think making this optional has any sense at all because it's either change it or leave it as it was. No point in maintaining two things that do the same thing.

Wikia changing one of his functions is not much difference than a restaurant changing a plate on its menu, it can't be really called "imposing". However, here's the catch: if the new menu is no good then you will loose clients. So I hope Wikia will take seriously into account everybody's (complains) feedback, because it's in their interest to do so. In my opinion, the search on Wikia is quite ineffective, both on the new and the old bar (since it's still the same anyway), because I always use it to go to an article I already know. I don't think it's useful as, say, a Google search which can be used quite effective to make not straight-forward searches. About the "new look", I feel it's still not ready for global usage and I don't like it. If at least the main points of concerns brought up so far will be addressed, it may turns out viable:
 * Dimensions.
 * Some sort of theme integration. Even a simple dark/light version is a good start.
 * Notifications rework: they should be in a separate menu like before.

Also, I understand why Wikia is forbidding heavily CSS customizations, especially in test stage, but in future you should reserve some space for user customizations. Everybody likes doing that. For example, I don't see any harm in adding some images in the bar, like some wikis used to do in the old style.