Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements/Repository/ウィキの外装の歴史

This page is a translated version of the page Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements/Repository/A History of Wiki Skins and the translation is 21% complete.

このページではウィキメディアのサイト用の外装について開発史を記録するものです。 現存もしくは過去の外装を争乱するのではなく、最も印象深くて重要なものを取り上げました。 ウィキメディア運動で使わない外装はたくさんなりますが、ここには含めません。 それぞれの節単位でまとめ、実現しようとした目標、結果、その遺したものを – コミュニティがその努力を平均してどう評価したか示しました。それぞれ異なるイニシアティブを文脈に応じて見比べるため、リンクを添えてあります。

2002年:最初に標準版があった(クラシック)

 

目標:まず、どこかを始点にするほかないですね。 :)

Outcomes: This is the initial appearance of MediaWiki, before skins were introduced. It resembled the look of the Phase II software, which itself was designed to look like UseMod.

Legacy: A persistent sidebar and the site logo in the upper left (in LTR languages). Humorously, the search box is also in the upper right corner like in Vector (in Monobook, the search box was moved to within the sidebar)

リンク:

2003: Cologne Blue

 

目標:

Outcomes: Bundled with MediaWiki until version 1.31. Available to Wikimedia wikis from 2003 to today.

Legacy: It was hidden from user preferences in 2019 (phab:T223824) but is still usable.

リンク:

2004: The dawn of Monobook

 

目標: MediaWiki に「外装をつける」という概念を紹介し、閲覧者にとってもっと明白で整理されたデザインに最新化する事です。

Outcomes:

Legacy: Still an actively used skin, particularly by editors who have been around the longest.

リンク:

2008: Modern

 

目標:モノブック(Monobook)から派生し、ツールサーバーウィキで使われます。

Outcomes: Bundled with MediaWiki until version 1.30. Available to Wikimedia wikis from 2008 to today.

Legacy: Like Cologne Blue, it's a zombie skin. Not much support or use, but still around.

リンク:

2008: Ruby, the first mobile frontend

目標:モバイル版のゲートウェーの第1号は Ruby を使い、ハプトン・キャトリンが書きました(ハムル・アンド・サースの創始者 Hampton Catlin= Haml and Sass)。

Outcomes: Hey look, we have a mobile-formatted site!

Legacy: Eventually evolved into MobileFrontend

リンク:

2009: The Wikipedia Usability Initiative

目標:「このイニシアティブの目指すところは、新規参加者にとってウィキペディアの使い心地が計測できる形で改善するように、利用者の行動研究に基づいて採用する技術を改良し、一般の人の参加にバリヤーになるものを減らそうとしています。」

Outcomes: Vector

Legacy: Vector

リンク:

2010: Vector: The first WMF-led skin

目標:使い心地のイニシアティブから学んだことの実施。

Outcomes: One of the largest WMF-led initiatives to change the user-interface.

Legacy: Love it or hate it, it's seen so much code change as to be indomitable.

  • You're seeing this right now, probably

リンク:

2011: "Mobile site rewrite" – MobileFrontend

In 2010, Ethan Marcotte wrote one of the first essays on "Responsive Web Design" and coined the term. RWD is "an approach to web design that makes web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes." See also a Wikipedia article about RWD.

目標:

Outcomes:

Legacy:

リンク:

2012: Athena

Goals: A prototype created by designer Brandon Harris to re-think the mobile site for contributors. You should watch the video linked on the project page for more context.

Outcomes: A first go at a unified, responsive, "mobile-first" skin for both desktop and mobile.

Legacy: General positive feelings, but never turned into a production skin.

リンク:

2013: VectorBeta Beta features feature

Goals: The VectorBeta extension was the first implementation of Beta features for the Vector skin.

Outcomes: Enabled users to test typography experiments, compact personal tools, and fixed header.

Legacy: Evolved into the current Beta features. This became a frequently (but inconsistency) used way of allowing desktop users to try out new features before making them available to all.

リンク:

2013: Turning off outdated skins

Goals:

Outcomes: Five skins without active maintainers were turned off on Wikimedia sites.

Legacy:

リンク:

2014: Winter is coming

Goals: A set of modules for experimenting with changes. Currently six of which are used as examples thought to be good ideas by the driver of the project, Brandon Harris (Jorm)

Outcomes: Jorm left the Foundation and the project stopped.

Legacy:

リンク:

2014: Typography refresh

Goals: Updates to Wikimedia's default typography, aiming to improve the readability, consistency, availability, and accessibility.

Outcomes: Was initially a beta feature that logged-in users could opt into. When deployed, not all items from the Beta feature were carried over. During development, the project added many little changes with some technical issues. Product teams did not wait long enough to see if users would get used to changes. Other non-typography-related changes were included (thumbnail appearance, fix-width content, removing numbering from Table of Contents). Some font changes were problematic, they did not work in some languages, particularly in Indic languages things were broken. One small wiki was blank as the font variant didn't exist for that language. Insufficient documentation was a problem throughout.

Legacy: Some frustration, with some improvements.

リンク:

2015: Timeless

Goals: A single responsive skin for MediaWiki based on Winter

Outcomes: First truly volunteer-created and supported skin that got deployed on Wikimedia wikis since skins were split off from MediaWiki core

Legacy:

  • Community-built skin
  • Included with MediaWiki since version 1.31
  • Currently available across Wikimedia projects as an opt-in skin
  • Was discussed and voted by the French Wiktionary community as a potential replacement default skin but the actual configuration change was blocked by the Wikimedia Foundation

リンク:

2016: Minerva Neue

Goals: Historically, the mobile skin was not a real skin and there was a preconception that MobileFrontend was being built in bad faith and Wikimedia centric. Splitting out the Minerva skin was a passion project to show that it was something that could be used outside the mobile universe and maybe in the future a usable desktop experience.

Outcomes:

Legacy: Minerva skin decoupled from MobileFrontend

リンク:

2018: Advanced mobile contributions

Goals: Adding a feature set with more contributor-focused capabilities to the mobile web experience

Outcomes:

Legacy:

  • Page issues
  • Opt-in interface
  • User menu
  • Special: page updates
  • What's next for MobileFrontend

リンク:

2019: Desktop Improvements

Skin:

Notes for future initiatives

This is mostly advice to anyone developing a new interface for Wikimedia projects. From a community perspective by way of Community Relations.

  • Remember, the contents of the sidebar (a collection of links and tool curated by the community) is inconsistent across projects. Don't depend on it for anything resembling consistency. (E.g. meta: / w:he: / w:zh: / voy:ru: / mw: / etc.)
  • The Foundation, as an organization leading recent efforts, has changed drastically since Vector was developed. In 2010 one could describe the Foundation as small teams, loosely affiliated.
  • Keep in mind the impact any changes to the interface (skins) will have on editor recruiting rates – particularly initiatives across the Foundation to grow medium-size wikis in emerging communities.
  • Don't hide the edit button.
  • Don't say you want to make a "simple" interface, but do say you want to make the interface "clearer".
  • With a broad stroke, power-editors don't want simplification. They are more focused on their workflows and not concerned with the complexity. To them, mastery of the interface is a sign of competence and commitment. They want more advanced tools (search, filters, quick actions (AWB, Huggle, Twinkle)), not less. You can sell them on a "clearer" interface, by also making their powerful tools more easily accessed and utilized - Progressive Disclosure designs, with an emphasis on how it will also help users who want even higher-density content/interfaces.
  • If you want to present on-boarding documentation, this needs to be created with the community, not for them.
  • Communicate everything, early and simply.

As of May 2019 there are six skins installed on Wikimedia sites.

  • Vector (default on desktop; supported by the WMF) - example
  • Cologne Blue (volunteer-supported) - example
  • MinervaNeue (default on mobile; supported by the WMF) - example
  • Modern (volunteer-supported) - example
  • MonoBook (originally WMF supported, and now volunteer-supported) - example
  • Timeless (volunteer-supported, partly via a WMF grant) - example

Statistics (phab tasks):