More feedback - copy and paste #10

New Issue

OMN · 2020-11-08T12:04:28Z

OMN commented

2020-11-08 12:04:28 +00:00

As promised hereby some initial feedback on the link you provided i.e. https://indymedia.openworlds.info/users/news
I love the initiative, so nowhere being critical, but hopefully helpful. It may be a bit messy in structure, as I’ll just type away :slight_smile:

To start with I’ll add a screenshot of my Firefox 73.0.1 browser running on Ubuntu 18 on a bigscreen monitor (2560 x 1440):

Screenshot from 2020-11-08 10-12-27
Screenshot from 2020-11-08 10-12-271945×1289 330 KB

Some first observations:

You started with the original Indymedia design. Nostalgic and a cool KISS approach.
Love the no-cookies and no-javascript setup.
The header image is stretched to the extent it starts to look fuzzy and pixelated.
The newswire image looks very pixelated. It should not be an image imho.
The font size on the whole looks too large too me, making for very low information density.
The custom font you load has no added value imho, and I’d use default browser fonts + fallbacks.
Link the AGPL icon to the license description, mention the copyright for site texts and content.

The HTML

I’d put the CSS in a separate file, so it can be cached.
Love the use of <imgset> and lazy loading.
The html can be way more semantic with less <div> and more <article>, etc.
OpenGraph and Twitter SEO etc. meta tags should still be added to <head>.
More descriptive <title>. I’d add “Indymedia” in any case, plus page title, maybe.
Other meta tags can be added, such as a full favicon set for all device types.
I guess you use the <table> styling for max. compatibility. Wonder if it is needed and CSS can’t do the job.
I’d advise to go through WCAG for accessibility. E.g. <img> alt-texts are missing, etc.
Consider your logo and other UI images to be SVG’s, so they will always be crisp and sharp.

The UX

Simple UI makes for good UX, I like the approach.
From here you can update to ‘crisp and modern’ look & feel with almost unchanged layout.
Use redesigned / different images, logo’s and icons
“Read more…” doesn’t cut it. It redirects to different sites and that is confusing.
There’s too much whitespace in the center column boxes.
“Global Indymedia” and “Network links” are confusing to me. What does it mean.
The entries below “Global Indymedia” are not very descriptive to me.
    They might have an icon, and maybe an excerpt text or hover dialog.
The black indymedia logo is a bit gloomy to me. Some brighter color theme appeals more to me.
The RSS icon is shown twice, left one is sufficient. Consider adding a “What’s this?” explainer for newbies.
The datetime fields are a bit too large, and might be positioned in other location (better card layouts).
    I don’t know if people are interested in time, besides date.
In the right-hand section you can group per day (day header, followed by entries).

Note that I mentioned “‘crisp and modern’ look & feel”. Many people in FLOSS world prefer a basic 90’s nostalgia UI. It appeals to a narrow audience. The broadest audience is reached with 2020 look & feel.
The Content

Some important aspects that are missing:

What is Indymedia?
Why Indymedia?
How does this site work?
What’s the relation to Fedi?
Who’s the team behind this site?
Why would I login? Where does that lead?
Terms of Service? Code of Conduct? Privacy Policy?
    The ToS and “About this Instance” are only shown after pressing Login.
    A privacy policy is a requirement if you have a login. It should be GDPR-compliant.

You have a great opportunity to tell the story, the rationale and the greater cause behind Indymedia, so I’d add a top-level menu from where one can drilldown to that, and to other parts in the sitemap.

Hope this was helpful 😄

PS. Appreciate if you could transfer this to your issue tracker, but please leave the screenshot out (privacy, shows open tabs, etc.) .

PS2. Just looked at the ‘nederland’ indymedia (I’m Dutch) and like their style + layout.

As promised hereby some initial feedback on the link you provided i.e. https://indymedia.openworlds.info/users/news I love the initiative, so nowhere being critical, but hopefully helpful. It may be a bit messy in structure, as I’ll just type away :slight_smile: To start with I’ll add a screenshot of my Firefox 73.0.1 browser running on Ubuntu 18 on a bigscreen monitor (2560 x 1440): Screenshot from 2020-11-08 10-12-27 Screenshot from 2020-11-08 10-12-271945×1289 330 KB Some first observations: You started with the original Indymedia design. Nostalgic and a cool KISS approach. Love the no-cookies and no-javascript setup. The header image is stretched to the extent it starts to look fuzzy and pixelated. The newswire image looks very pixelated. It should not be an image imho. The font size on the whole looks too large too me, making for very low information density. The custom font you load has no added value imho, and I’d use default browser fonts + fallbacks. Link the AGPL icon to the license description, mention the copyright for site texts and content. The HTML I’d put the CSS in a separate file, so it can be cached. Love the use of <imgset> and lazy loading. The html can be way more semantic with less <div> and more <article>, etc. OpenGraph and Twitter SEO etc. meta tags should still be added to <head>. More descriptive <title>. I’d add “Indymedia” in any case, plus page title, maybe. Other meta tags can be added, such as a full favicon set for all device types. I guess you use the <table> styling for max. compatibility. Wonder if it is needed and CSS can’t do the job. I’d advise to go through WCAG for accessibility. E.g. <img> alt-texts are missing, etc. Consider your logo and other UI images to be SVG’s, so they will always be crisp and sharp. The UX Simple UI makes for good UX, I like the approach. From here you can update to ‘crisp and modern’ look & feel with almost unchanged layout. Use redesigned / different images, logo’s and icons “Read more…” doesn’t cut it. It redirects to different sites and that is confusing. There’s too much whitespace in the center column boxes. “Global Indymedia” and “Network links” are confusing to me. What does it mean. The entries below “Global Indymedia” are not very descriptive to me. They might have an icon, and maybe an excerpt text or hover dialog. The black indymedia logo is a bit gloomy to me. Some brighter color theme appeals more to me. The RSS icon is shown twice, left one is sufficient. Consider adding a “What’s this?” explainer for newbies. The datetime fields are a bit too large, and might be positioned in other location (better card layouts). I don’t know if people are interested in time, besides date. In the right-hand section you can group per day (day header, followed by entries). Note that I mentioned “‘crisp and modern’ look & feel”. Many people in FLOSS world prefer a basic 90’s nostalgia UI. It appeals to a narrow audience. The broadest audience is reached with 2020 look & feel. The Content Some important aspects that are missing: What is Indymedia? Why Indymedia? How does this site work? What’s the relation to Fedi? Who’s the team behind this site? Why would I login? Where does that lead? Terms of Service? Code of Conduct? Privacy Policy? The ToS and “About this Instance” are only shown after pressing Login. A privacy policy is a requirement if you have a login. It should be GDPR-compliant. You have a great opportunity to tell the story, the rationale and the greater cause behind Indymedia, so I’d add a top-level menu from where one can drilldown to that, and to other parts in the sitemap. Hope this was helpful :smile: PS. Appreciate if you could transfer this to your issue tracker, but please leave the screenshot out (privacy, shows open tabs, etc.) . PS2. Just looked at the ‘nederland’ indymedia (I’m Dutch) and like their style + layout.

OMN commented

2020-12-08 10:34:20 +00:00

Poster

More user feedback - copy and paste

Oh nice,

Some points of feedback:

When I click a link (like Mission Statement) then the visited color is White, making it invisible.
The menu entries could use some more pixels of vertical spacing and the headings might be a bit smaller font size.

But more importantly:

I can’t find in any description how Indymedia relates to being a federated application. What is its relationship to the Fediverse?
Given that Indymedia is top-level for a host of instances that will be part of it, I would carefully look at the Mission Statement.

Mission Statement

I think the sample mission statement uses terminology that will unnecessarily disenfranchise a large number of people. Take the following text:

Indymedia exists: to enable radical people & groups in the area [and later on] to capture important radical news and movements

Why do I need to be ‘radical’ to use Indymedia? This news is not radical either, it is rational. It is about using commonsense again. Don’t position Indymedia on the pedestal of radicalism. The themes that Indymedia stands for have become much more commonplace and accepted. Masses of ‘non-radical’ people come to the same insights that capitalism is running amok, and that MSM is not providing a honest worldview. Using this terminology will cause less people to use Indymedia while they are perfect matches for the target audience. Remove the word ‘radical’ is my advice!

Same in the next section with:

Indymedia organises itself along broadly anarchist principles

Avoid the term ‘anarchist’. It is not needed to explain how Indymedia works, and the word alone will lead to people shying away on preconceived notions of what ‘anarchism’ entails.

PS. If you won’t mind to once again transfer this to an issue in your tracker. I might create an account later on, but I am drowning in accounts, atm

**More user feedback - copy and paste** Oh nice, Some points of feedback: When I click a link (like Mission Statement) then the visited color is White, making it invisible. The menu entries could use some more pixels of vertical spacing and the headings might be a bit smaller font size. But more importantly: I can’t find in any description how Indymedia relates to being a federated application. What is its relationship to the Fediverse? Given that Indymedia is top-level for a host of instances that will be part of it, I would carefully look at the Mission Statement. Mission Statement I think the sample mission statement uses terminology that will unnecessarily disenfranchise a large number of people. Take the following text: Indymedia exists: to enable radical people & groups in the area [and later on] to capture important radical news and movements Why do I need to be ‘radical’ to use Indymedia? This news is not radical either, it is rational. It is about using commonsense again. Don’t position Indymedia on the pedestal of radicalism. The themes that Indymedia stands for have become much more commonplace and accepted. Masses of ‘non-radical’ people come to the same insights that capitalism is running amok, and that MSM is not providing a honest worldview. Using this terminology will cause less people to use Indymedia while they are perfect matches for the target audience. Remove the word ‘radical’ is my advice! Same in the next section with: Indymedia organises itself along broadly anarchist principles Avoid the term ‘anarchist’. It is not needed to explain how Indymedia works, and the word alone will lead to people shying away on preconceived notions of what ‘anarchism’ entails. PS. If you won’t mind to once again transfer this to an issue in your tracker. I might create an account later on, but I am drowning in accounts, atm

bashrc commented

2020-12-08 10:44:47 +00:00

Word to the wise: don't avoid "anarchist" or "radical". Be honest about what you believe, and people may respect you for it even if they don't agree.

Hiding behind deliberately dishonest obfuscation is alt-right stuff.

Word to the wise: don't avoid "anarchist" or "radical". Be honest about what you believe, and people may respect you for it even if they don't agree. Hiding behind deliberately dishonest obfuscation is alt-right stuff.

OMN commented

2020-12-08 10:46:11 +00:00

Poster

Yep, we have lots of CSS issues on different browsers and platforms to fix.
The fedivers text is something to be writern by user feedback during the test rollout.
The Mission statement is the original one with nearly 200 instances running in over 50 countrys and 10,000's of people working on the project for over 10 years. Must of been doing something right with the mission statement.

* Yep, we have lots of CSS issues on different browsers and platforms to fix. * The fedivers text is something to be writern by user feedback during the test rollout. * The Mission statement is the original one with nearly 200 instances running in over 50 countrys and 10,000's of people working on the project for over 10 years. Must of been doing something right with the mission statement.

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