User blog comment:MisterWoodhouse/Unified Community Platform: The Vision, Purpose, and Process/@comment-9605025-20200221030349

What is the Unified Community Platform? Phase 1 Phase 2 BUT WHAT ABOUT CHANGES IN PHASE 1?
 * So does that mean that all, or nearly so, custom features are being removed/replaced rather than updated?
 * Are there plans to merge the new achievements system with the current one? If not, what will happen to badges users have gotten using the current system?
 * So all of this is happening in the next 5 months even while extensions/custom features are still in review?
 * Will the staggered timing be based on when extensions/custom features become available or simply based on a deadline? If the latter, I am concerned about wikis being moved and things breaking due to a lack of extensions/custom features.
 * I am a bit confused. You say "legacy versions of Fandom and Gamepedia will be shut down". From your previous bullet points, it sounds like, by the time we get here, all wikis will have been already converted. So what is it that is getting "shut down"? Did you simply intend this as a reaffirmation that, by this point, there will no longer be any wikis on the old platform? The alternative meaning I can think of (but am fairly sure you don't mean) is that converted wikis will still be available in an archive-like state on the old platform until this step.
 * Please tell me this doesn't mean just resizing a mobile layout to fit a desktop/laptop. This is perceived to be the case for Discussions and is, from what I can tell, one of the largest criticisms for why Discussions is desktop un-friendly. One issue I repeatedly see is layouts that are stunning on desktop but terrible on mobile. So clearly there is no easy way to start with one and minimally adapt if for the other. From current experience, I am seriously skeptical that you can get a "uniform look-and-feel" across devices while simultaneously maximizing the experience for both.
 * FANDOM has already been rolling out SEO-related changes with the purpose of increasing the rankings for article pages. However, what about images? There are some concerns that, while the recent changes have improved article SEO, they may have harmed image SEO.
 * Based on my experience with the current VisualEditor, I am very nervous about this. You mention that there is a source tab but is the relation between the new VisualEditor and its source tab significantly different than the relation between the current VisualEditor and its source mode? I care because the current VisualEditor source tab still goes through VisualEditor. It can still suffer from bugs related to the visual mode and you have to go back into visual mode before actually saving the page. Although it is "source", it not as bug-free as the classic editor's source mode. It is more than a bit concerning to think that there won't be a workaround for when there is an issue with the VisualEditor. Not to mention that the current VisualEditor is far less compatible with older browsers than the classic editor's source mode.
 * It would be nice if you could directly filter by category using the URL. Please consider adding this if you aren't already. It would be good for converted Forums since boards are being replaced by categories. Also, it would allow users to direct others to the correct category when telling them to post on Discussions. For instance, I can tell someone to ask on the dev wiki under the "Script Suggestions" category. However, once they get there, they might post it under "General" because they don't know they have to select the category and/or they might just not care. If you could provide a link such that the target category is pre-selected, that would be awesome.
 * I feel this new creation approval process is going to end up causing more problems for us (Community Central) with blocked users. Some blocked users that still want to post their ideas on a topic create their own wiki and are on their way. I can just image how much more irate they will be if they are told they cannot create a new wiki for their ideas and yet they also cannot be unblocked on the wiki they are supposed to post those ideas to.
 * Those comments on message walls and comments don't actually say much. All I got from it was "they will be displayed where they are currently displayed". The "details" provided so far have done nothing to address the issues raised as a result of the Forum to Discussion transition.