Wikipedia:WikiProject Usability

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The Wikipedia Usability Project aims to make Wikipedia easier for everyone to use.

This project aims to promote the application of standards related to usability and/or web usability. Many other projects focus on the content of Wikipedia - this project focuses on the presentation of that content.

1 Issues
2 Current projects
3 Past projects
4 Future projects
5 Queries
6 Tasks
7 Discussion
8 Sub-pages
9 Participants
10 See also

[edit] Issues

The logo of the project by Kooky. Green represents the user, the three branches represent the web of information Wikipedia provides, and the middle path is the clearest, the one the project strives for. The shape recalls a blooming flower and the Wikimedia logo, as well.

This project hopes to make Wikipedia easy and pleasant to use by applying itself to the following areas:

Accessibility - Choosing language and style that will make Wikipedia accessible to everyone, especially the disabled, the seeing-impaired, elderly, persons with only a basic understanding of a language, and those with slow internet connections. (See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Accessibility.)
Architecture - Organisation of information.
Design - Visual appearance of Wikipedia; making it 'easy on the eyes', and standardized (all things of a certain type should appear in the same form).
Interface - Making editing and other interactions easier.
Compatibility - Cross-browser support; ease of use for everyone on any device and any browser
W3C compliance - Using XHTML and CSS in a manner that promotes the above.

[edit] Current projects

[edit] Past projects

[edit] Future projects

See future projects for what we may tackle next!

[edit] Queries

Wikipedia talk:Community Portal#Request [1] - "is there no way to get a better interface? most people have javascript its just that its all so very confusing- maybe that is supposed to put most people off? NO indication where one is supposed to join up/post/ pages and pages....protocols... and all the jargon offputting. you need to attract people who dont necessarily have computer knowledge but subject knowledge you should make it easy for eg. my grandfather, who is an expert on aviation history to contribute to this online resource- its all so very confusing!!!!!"
User:OwenBlacker/Usability — a disagreement between two users (one of whom is me) over matters of accessibility and usability that may be of interest to members of this project. — OwenBlacker 19:59, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
At Talk:Isotope table (complete) we are debating a proposal by User:Greg L to put the article's full isotope table, and Isotope table (divided)'s table, in a single larger article. Much of the argument is about usability, as well as performance. Input from the Usability project might be useful. --JWB (talk) 16:49, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tasks

Tasks/to-dos, current efforts, requests for help, and major notices. (Remove when resolved.)

Spreading the word about this WikiProject!

If you know anyone who may be a valuable addition to this project, leave a comment on their talk page directing them here. You could also leave comments on talk pages that are directly related to this subject.

[edit] Discussion

IRC channel - #wikipedia.usability on irc.freenode.org
The talk page

[edit] Sub-pages

/Color - use of color in Wikipedia
/Color Tabs - side tabs for browsing (color coded)
/Sizing examples - browser width and image size
/HTML - use of HTML and CSS in Wikipedia
/Images - images in Wikipedia articles
/Notices - notices, boxes, and other "meta" elements

[edit] Participants

If you'd like to join (please do!), add yourself and optionally your areas of interest/expertise to the list below and add this page onto your watch list.

Listing yourself does not obligate you to do anything. This section serves primarily as a gauge of project interest, and to provide links to users who may be contacted in regards to this wikiproject, their interests, or usability in general.

M (talk) — Non-broken, compliant, and proper CSS and HTML code. Setting standards for meta elements (boxes, tables, etc.)
AlMac (talk)
Omegatron talk
r3m0t talk
Slike2
Fito
violet/riga (t)
smoddy
Quinobi - talk-me or talk-all
Jrbaker
Aapo Laitinen (talk)
Spalding Yes! I would love to combine a little Donald Norman, Jakob Nielsen and Steve Krug with Jimmy Wales to make Wikipedia even better. In a sense we're all usability testers when we read articles on unfamiliar subjects.
Mysidia
Tom-
+sj +
R e dwolf24
MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip
HappyCamper
Thorpe ^talk
Fir e Fo x
— Dan | Talk
--Aude
Francis Schonken
ForteTuba (talk) I'm interested in using personalization to increase contributions to online communities like Wikipedia.
mlazopoulou I'm interested in usable Wikis. Not only from the presentation point of view but from the editing/interaction point of view as well.
Voice of All
jnothman ^talk
∴ here ♠ -- the data will survive, the interface be reborn.
the wub "?!"
--A dam1213
Urthogie 12:54, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
hydnjo talk
The Neokid Talk - Usability is still a big problem, and needs to be conquered effectively. I have skills in HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP and ASP (although the last two aren't that important for usability).
Kevin Baas^talk 21:21, 26 January 2006 (UTC)
Chairman S. 13:46, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
Davidpk212
Webdinger (talk) I'm particularly concerned about how CSS is used on Wikipedia.
—Locke Cole • t • c 00:01, 10 March 2006 (UTC), worried about CSS hacks in templates.
Pegasus1138^{Talk | Contribs | Email} ---- 05:43, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
Quiddity
alain_desilets - Author of a paper entitled "Are Wikis Usable?" [2], presented at WikiSym'06.
-- Alfakim -- talk 15:25, 13 April 2006 (UTC) XHTML, CSS and Wikimarkup expertise, run my own wiki elsewhere, and definitely want to help to make Wikipedia easier to use.
AtionSong 17:31, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
DJenni1 15:28, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
ReverendG 01:14, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
Kookykman|(t)e 21:49, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
—Ruud 15:54, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
~ Amalas rawr ^{=^_^=} 20:15, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
User:Clayoquot, professional interaction designer Kla'quot 17:25, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
Andy Mabbett 19:43, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
Nihiltres^(t.l) 15:50, 26 July 2007 (UTC) I'm particularly interested in minimizing the use of the evil {{click}} template by replacing it with cleaner ImageMap code.
OwenBlacker — XHTML, CSS, Wikimarkup. I'm particularly interested in removing all text (I have a strong astygmatism). Anyone bothered by adjacent links might be interested in {{,}} (that is: the template "comma", which inserts a superscript comma between adjacent citation links. 18:41, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
OptimistBen (talk) 22:33, 18 April 2008 (UTC) Not exactly a programmer, but I'll try to give feedback and maybe do some minor programming someday.