50
votes
New "voted" formatting - less improved
I notice that the formatting of my "voted" status on topics has changed. It used to be that, when I had voted on a topic, its vote count displayed with a solid purple block (I'm using Solarized Light). This distinguished it from topics I had not voted on, which displayed a blue box around the vote count.
This morning, the vote counts for topics I have voted on are displayed with just a single purple line to their left, while the unvoted topics still display the blue box.
This change means that my "voted on" and "not voted on" topics aren't easily distinguishable again, like before the change to the big purple box. Again, it's confusing to work out whether or not I have voted on a topic.
Yeah, I'm trying to make it less "gaudy" but still distinguishable (but am definitely open to changing it more). There are also these differences, not just the line:
Personally, I think the solid purple block was way too distinct for something that really isn't that important—if anything, things that I've already voted on should probably be less visible, not way more visible than everything else. If you do a "squint test" and squint your eyes a bit to blur the details of everything on the page, the "you've voted on this" indicator stood out more than almost everything on the page, but I'd consider that a pretty unimportant element.
Why did you find it useful to have a large, bright purple block next to everything you've voted on? Is there some other way we could accomplish it?
I actually use the voted box to mark things I've read and was interested in. So having it stand out a bit more works for me. If there's suddenly activity on, especially an older post, it pops up and catches my eye.
The blue and purple colours in Solarized Light aren't different enough to act as visual cues. Maybe choose another pair of colours that are more different?
When I haven't voted, it's got a visible box, but when I have voted, the box disappears. The "voted" status is therefore less visible than the "not voted" status.
Bold and not-bold aren't easily distinguishable when you're just glancing down the column.
To me, the biggest visual cue was the difference between the empty box and the filled block. The lines and bolding are a bit too subtle.
Because it looked different to the topics I had not voted on, and therefore reminded me not to vote on it again. The large bright purple block prevents me from removing my own votes by showing me very clearly and unambiguously that I already voted on that topic.
I think it would look better and provide a more consistent look if voting just changed the color.
So it would be a purple box around a voted and blue around not voted. Just the line doesn't feel necessary, either all boxed around or no box seem to me like the two choices.
Also, the not voted number look noticeably worse to me now that it isn't bold. Not saying it has to be back to what it was but it looks way to light/thin like it looks cheap is all I can think to describe it.
That's how it was originally (months ago), and people said they couldn't tell the difference between voted and unvoted at all.
Yeah I can see that argument. The blue/purple aren't very contrasting so possibly a color change? Based on current colors I see i'm guessing the choices are what's in the tildes logo?
Other than that maybe make the voted box "bold" as well as the number to make them a bit more contrasting?
like this? https://i.imgur.com/q6QQsLF.png
It's actually a colour scheme called Solarized. There's a Solarized Light version and a Solarized Dark version.
I'd like to see a pair of states more visually different than that.
The more I think about it, the more I'm realising that the coloured block versus the empty square is the difference I'm looking for. (@Deimos)
Oh cool, I alternate between solarized dark and solarized light modes never really put it together that the logo was just the accent colors from solarized in a wave pattern.
What if voted was just treated like a topic you submitted and the box is omitted? leaving the bold violet number, It would make sense to do that in my eyes. Posts we make are already similar to that and removing the box is very easy to see when scrolling past stuff, so the differences would look like this between Your topics, voted and not voted: https://i.imgur.com/L6rf53H.png
That could work. The key is that topics I could vote on look different to topics I would not vote on. "If it has a box around it, I can vote on it. If it does not have a box around it, I do not vote on it." It's a simple dichotomy.
I'm a bit surprised that you seem supportive of that but don't like the current state. The line down the left side makes that much difference?
To me, the line just seems seems unnecessary and looks out of place as just a floating vertical line.
In the version you just deprecated, there were three very clear and distinct states:
"can't vote" was represented by a number with no box.
"can vote" was represented by a number in a box.
"already voted" was represented by a number in a coloured block.
They're very distinct appearances and easy to distinguish at a glance.
Now they're all too similar to each other. I've still got three states to monitor, but they're not obviously different from each other. I have to stop and look at each number to see whether it has a full box or a partial box or no box at all.
What @cain's proposal does is simplify those three states to two states: "can vote" and "can't vote". If it has a box, I can vote on it. If it doesn't have a box, I can't vote on it. (It's irrelevant why I can't vote on it. I just can't, and that's all that matters.)
Both approaches work: three distinct states, or two distinct states. But three sort-of-distinct states isn't so good.
I've removed the left border now, so it's pretty much the same as @cain's suggestion above now. Let me know how that feels after trying it out for a little while.
I noticed the change. Thank you. I'm happy with it - but I can't guarantee everyone else will agree with me! :)
Exactly, I would just slightly change if to,
Don't see much need in drawing attention with the box on a voted post, the scenarios where I would remove my vote are pretty far fetched for me to ever consider the need for drawing attention once I've already voted.
Others have said they looked for the big purple box to mark things they're interested in or where they've been and I'd say it's just as easy to make that distinction without the big purple box just looking for the absence of the border.
I wrote it this way deliberately, to focus on how a user should respond to these different states, rather than what these different states represent.
From a user's point of view, they can vote on topics where the vote count displays a square - and that's all they need to know.
If there's no square around the vote count, the user won't vote on those topics. Whether that's because they can't vote on their own topics or because they already voted on that topic is irrelevant. The important thing to focus on is the dichotomy between "I can vote on this" and "I don't vote on that".
I understand the justification. But I get where Deimos is coming from when he says it is the most noticeable thing on the page to see a huge purple box on something that is not important anymore since you already voted.
I'm just offering alternatives because I think that having just the line on the left is not the answer, visually it seems wrong.
When I vote on something I could care less if I still have the ability to vote on it. It is in the same category in my mind as a post I submitted. I've already seen that post so I become less visually drawn to it. When new comments are made I am once again drawn to the post by the red ( _ new ) next to the comments. What reasoning would a user have to need a visual cue that they can still vote on a topic when they've already voted?
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm explaining why I'm agreeing with you. As I just explained to Deimos, you simplified three voting states ("can vote", "can't vote", "already voted") to two voting states ("can vote" and "can't vote").
Oh okay I just slightly misread/misunderstood your comments I guess.
For the life of me can't remember what votes looked like before this change, but here's my suggestion.
FYI, you can avoid the jumping that comes from hiding borders by just setting them to transparent, e.g.
border-color:transparent; border-left-color:#4f55b8;.Yep, we've been through a dashed->solid border attempt already too. That was the next one after it only being a color change (that I mentioned elsewhere), people said they still couldn't really tell them apart. Going to the full purple background was me going a bit over-the-top with making them extremely different.
Thanks for the tip with the transparent borders though, that's probably a good method to reduce the jumping.
I personally don’t mind the change. I would be curious how brand new users see it as it may just be a jarring change to active current users?
I actually found the solid purple a little to in-your-face, but do agree that this is harder to see what I've voted on. Function is more important to me, so I vote for changing to be more visually obvious.
I don't mind the change personally, just find the difference between the boxes and the one vertical line kinda jarring.
Very much agreed on that. It just looks out of place, but I admit it makes it easy to tell which you've voted on.