Wikibooks:Reading room/Archives/2019/October

Feedback wanted on Desktop Improvements project
. The Readers Web team at the WMF will work on some improvements to the desktop interface over the next couple of years. The goal is to increase usability without removing any functionality. We have been inspired by changes made by volunteers, but that currently only exist as local gadgets and user scripts, prototypes, and volunteer-led skins. We would like to begin the process of bringing some of these changes into the default experience on all Wikimedia projects.

We are currently in the research stage of this project and are looking for ideas for improvements, as well as feedback on our current ideas and mockups. So far, we have performed interviews with community members at Wikimania. We have gathered lists of previous volunteer and WMF work in this area. We are examining possible technical approaches for such changes.

We would like individual feedback on the following:


 * Identifying focus areas for the project we have not yet discovered
 * Expanding the list of existing gadgets and user scripts that are related to providing a better desktop experience. If you can think of some of these from your wiki, please let us know
 * Feedback on the ideas and mockups we have collected so far

We would also like to gather a list of wikis that would be interested in being test wikis for this project - these wikis would be the first to receive the updates once we’re ready to start building.

When giving feedback, please consider the following goals of the project:


 * Make it easier for readers to focus on the content
 * Provide easier access to everyday actions (e.g. search, language switching, editing)
 * Put things in logical and useful places
 * Increase consistency in the interface with other platforms - mobile web and the apps
 * Eliminate clutter
 * Plan for future growth

As well as the following constraints:


 * Not touching the content - no work will be done in terms of styling templates or to the structure of page contents themselves
 * Not removing any functionality - things might move around, but all navigational items and other functionality currently available by default will remain
 * No drastic changes to the layout - we're taking an evolutionary approach to the changes and want the site to continue feeling familiar to readers and editors

Please give all feedback (in any language) at mw:Talk:Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements

After this round of feedback, we plan on building a prototype of suggested changes based on the feedback we receive. You’ll hear from us again asking for feedback on this prototype.

Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 06:53, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Community Wishlist Survey 2020: Proposal phase opened until 11 November 2019
Hello,

I though it'd be good and interesting to let you know that the Community Wishlist Survey 2020 is now accepting proposals until Nov., 11.

This year's survey will only focus on non-Wikipedia projects, so it might be a good oportunity to raise the technical issues and needs Wikibooks users do have.

Best regards, --MarcoAurelio (discuss • contribs) 11:42, 25 October 2019 (UTC)

Editing News #2 – Mobile editing and talk pages
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Inside this newsletter, the Editing team talks about their work on the mobile visual editor, on the new talk pages project, and at Wikimania 2019.

Help
What talk page interactions do you remember? Is it a story about how someone helped you to learn something new? Is it a story about how someone helped you get involved in a group? Something else? Whatever your story is, we want to hear it!

Please tell us a story about how you used a talk page. Please share a link to a memorable discussion, or describe it on the talk page for this project. The team wants your examples. These examples will help everyone develop a shared understanding of what this project should support and encourage.

Talk pages project
The Talk Pages Consultation was a global consultation to define better tools for wiki communication. From February through June 2019, more than 500 volunteers on 20 wikis, across 15 languages and multiple projects, came together with members of the Foundation to create a product direction for a set of discussion tools. The Phase 2 Report of the Talk Page Consultation was published in August. It summarizes the product direction the team has started to work on, which you can read more about here: Talk Page Project project page.

The team needs and wants your help at this early stage. They are starting to develop the first idea. Please add your name to the "Getting involved"  section of the project page, if you would like to hear about opportunities to participate.

Mobile visual editor
The Editing team is trying to make it simpler to edit on mobile devices. The team is changing the visual editor on mobile. If you have something to say about editing on a mobile device, please leave a message at Talk:VisualEditor on mobile.

Edit Cards



 * On 3 September, the Editing team released version 3 of Edit Cards. Anyone could use the new version in the mobile visual editor.
 * There is an updated design on the Edit Card for adding and modifying links. There is also a new, combined workflow for editing a link's display text and target.
 * Feedback: You can try the new Edit Cards by opening the mobile visual editor on a smartphone. Please post your feedback on the Edit cards talk page.

Toolbar



 * In September, the Editing team updated the mobile visual editor's editing toolbar. Anyone could see these changes in the mobile visual editor.
 * One toolbar: All of the editing tools are located in one toolbar. Previously, the toolbar changed when you clicked on different things.
 * New navigation: The buttons for moving forward and backward in the edit flow have changed.
 * Seamless switching: an improved workflow for switching between the visual and wikitext modes.
 * Feedback: You can try the refreshed toolbar by opening the mobile VisualEditor on a smartphone. Please post your feedback on the Toolbar feedback talk page.

Wikimania
The Editing Team attended Wikimania 2019 in Sweden. They led a session on the mobile visual editor and a session on the new talk pages project. They tested two new features in the mobile visual editor with contributors. You can read more about what the team did and learned in the team's report on Wikimania 2019.

Looking ahead

 * Talk Pages Project: The team is thinking about the first set of proposed changes. The team will be working with a few communities to pilot those changes. The best way to stay informed is by adding your username to the list on the project page:  Getting involved.
 * Testing the mobile visual editor as the default: The Editing team plans to post results before the end of the calendar year. The best way to stay informed is by adding the project page to your watchlist:  VisualEditor as mobile default project page.
 * Measuring the impact of Edit Cards: This study asks whether the project helped editors add links and citations.  The Editing team hopes to share results in November.  The best way to stay informed is by adding the project page to your watchlist:  Edit Cards project page.

– PPelberg (WMF) (talk) & Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 11:13, 29 October 2019 (UTC)

Rollback
Hi, does anyone know why I can't use rollback sometimes? 大 诺 史 ( Talk/留言/토론/Discussion ) 12:21, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * We can't rollback the page creator to nothing. JackPotte (discuss • contribs) 12:30, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Not about the IP, just sometimes I run into the problem when trying to revert random vandalism in a structured page. 大 诺 史 ( Talk/留言/토론/Discussion ) 12:57, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * User:大诺史, I had the same problem. I think its because our accounts are rate limited on rollback, as we don't have the "noratelimit" right.
 * See mw:Manual:$wgRateLimits, default is 10 rollbacks over a 60 second period for confirmed users. So any faster than a rollback every six seconds can be rejected. I suspect that en.wb has the default value.
 * See also Special:ListGroupRights for which groups have the"noratelimit" right, not included in the reviewer group. -- Jules (Mrjulesd) 13:23, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Can someone change the limit as it will be easier to use mass rollback instead of rejecting/undoing their changes individually. 大 诺 史 ( Talk/留言/토론/Discussion ) 13:28, 5 October 2019 (UTC)

I don't know too much about it, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. But to alter the ratelimit you would have to edit the LocalSettings.php file for en.wb, see mw:Manual:LocalSettings.php for an explanation. I don't think this can be done on the web interface, so would have to be done by a WMF sys admin. Quite how you would go about requesting this is not something I know.

I think it makes sense for reviewers to have a ratelimit applied for rollback, otherwise there could be abuse and a very large cleanup in the hands on a rogue editor with a scripted bot. But I would like the reviewer rollback ratelimit set to something lower (e.g. 1 rollback per 1 second), as otherwise it can be a pain for reviewers to do mass rollback when needed.

,, , in case they have an additional input on this matter. -- Jules (Mrjulesd) 16:55, 5 October 2019 (UTC)


 * I believe it is, yes, the sort of thing for which we'd get a community consensus to change the site configuration. It's quite rare for us to tamper with that. (This difficulty with rollback was invisible to me, apparently because as an admin, looking at the above, I'm exempt.) --Pi zero (discuss • contribs) 17:23, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Nothing much to add to the comments above. Yes it has to be modified by a developer and to do so would require a community discussion and approval followed by a phabricator request. QuiteUnusual (discuss • contribs) 20:36, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Wasn't aware of this issue. If the limit is indeed the issue I'd be happy for it to be raised, but I somehow doubt that's actually the problem - I would have thought that it's high enough. Leaderboard (discuss • contribs) 01:07, 6 October 2019 (UTC)
 * . I've created a proposal at WB:PROPOSALS, do check it out. 大 诺 史 ( Talk/留言/토론/Discussion ) 06:55, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

Boston, etc
I want to create books on Boston, like info whatnot. Also other books. How? GazaOaku (discuss • contribs) 13:53, 5 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Hi GazaOaku, Welcome to Wikibooks. I suggest you read it here first ( See Wikibooks FAQ ) before you start to create a book . Encik Tekateki (discuss • contribs) 15:02, 5 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Hi . Books about a place would probably be better suited to out sister project Wikivoyage. Leaderboard (discuss • contribs) 01:09, 6 October 2019 (UTC)