12
votes
Suggestion: Adding the group list to the sidebar even when you are on a particular group
Hi, finally got the chance to join tildes. I am loving it so far but there is just one small suggestion.
When I am on mobile and on a particular group, for eg ~music and want to switch to ~books, I have to go back to the main page to access the list from the sidebar.
I know, I know, I could just type in the url but wouldn't it be better if there was some way to access the group list from any page for easier navigation. Perhaps adding it in the existing sidebar or a separate sidebar on the left side.
Just to provide another viewpoint, I do like having distinct sidebars as we do now and this isn't something that I personally want. I definitely recognize the value though, so maybe something in the middle: have the current group listed in the sidebar (since we're kind of trained to feel that "group" information is over there from the group info existing there on the hub page). Add a dropdown element (simple HTML, no JS required) to select a new group.
I think this could be a fairly effective solution.
Definitely agree with you. A dropdown element would be better than cluttering the sidebar.
Hey Kelsier, thanks for the suggestion, and welcome!
I agree that it's annoying to need to go through the home page to switch groups (though I don't think most people are going directly to specific groups very often yet at this activity level). I'd definitely like to make it possible to move between groups easily from anywhere, but I'm not really sure yet how I want to do it.
My general feeling is that the right sidebar is for "contextual" information and links—things related to the current page/context that you're in. For example, when you're in a topic's comments, it has info about that topic and its comments. When you're on your user page, it has your user info and links to other "personal" sections. It's definitely under-utilized in a lot of places right now, but there will be a lot of info/links/etc. to put in it eventually, so I don't want to start using it for navigation out of convenience and then need to frustrate everyone when the navigation has to be moved somewhere else eventually.
I think I'd probably like to add global/navigation type things into either the header somehow, or a left-side menu that can collapse/expand on mobile and smaller screens, or possibly stay open all the time for people on desktop with widescreen monitors. That way there are separate menus/sections devoted to "where I am now" and "going somewhere else", if that makes sense.
Anyone have any thoughts on that kind of approach?
Hey @Deimos, just discovered another bug. Not sure whether it's just temporary.
When you search something, the tags on the results are not clickable.
Yep, there's an issue (and merge request) for that, thanks: https://gitlab.com/tildes/tildes/issues/268
Yes, I think a left side collapsible menu would work well on mobile. For desktop, we can go the reddit route and display some of the groups at the top of the page, though I think it won't go that well with the aesthetic of the website.
Yes, it makes sense to keep navigation links separate from contextual information. Maybe just put a 'navigation' link somewhere at the top of the page that people can click on (no auto-pop-ups!!!) to go to places around Tildes: main page, other groups, documentation, etc.
I've requested something similar for Tildes Extended. I don't know the status of it, but it looks mostly done.
I have a few scattered thoughts with one thing in common: at some point, there will be (many) more than ≈20 groups.