Topic on Talk:Talk pages project/New topic/Flow

Over the past two weeks, people shared ideas¹ for how version 1.0 of the New Discussion Tool designs could be improved to ensure Junior Contributors can confidently and correctly start new conversations...thank you.

This post contains the following:

1. A summary of the feedback/ideas people shared
2. The plans we have for incorporating this feedback
3. What you can expect to see and try next

The above are posted in this thread as separate comments.

If you see anything here that prompts new thoughts or questions, please let us know.

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1. @Ad Huikeshoven, @Atmark-chan, @Awesome Aasim, @Barkeep49, @Dvorapa, @Dyolf77 (WMF), @Evolution and evolvability, @MarcoAurelio, @Matěj Suchánek, and @Patriccck.

I. Feedback summary

We understood the feedback people had to share about version 1.0 of the New Discussion Tool design as falling into two broad categories:

1. The discoverability of the affordance for adding a new topic
2. The functionality offered within the "drafting" part of tool

On the topic of how easy it is likely to be for Junior Contributors to recognize where and how to start the process for adding a new discussion topic, people noted how the initial design is likely to cause Junior Contributors to remain confused. People cited the lack of changes to the appearance and location of the existing "New section" call to action as a reason for why they think this.

On the topic of drafting/composing new discussion topics using the New Discussion Tool, people said:

• The title/subject field could be changed to make it more clear to people that they ought to edit/enter text into it.
• It would be helpful to have the tools available in the tool's visual mode, extended to its source mode.
• It would be helpful to enhance the tool such that you can adjust the heading level at which topics are posted.

II. Plans for incorporating feedback

Below you will find the feedback noted above, organized by when we plan to address it as well links to the Phabricator tickets where this work will happen when it is prioritized.

Near-term

• You can expect to see changes to how the title/subject field looks to make it more clear that it is editable in the prototype we will have to share in a couple of weeks. More details about the prototype can be found below and details about the design changes can be found in this Phabricator ticket: T267442.

Later in the Talk pages project

• You can expect to see changes intended to make it easier for Junior and Senior Contributors to identify where and how to add a new topic to a talk page, regardless of where they are on said page, as part of the visual enhancements we have planned for how talk pages appear in read mode (more info: T249579). We are gathering ideas for how this might be done in T267444. Thank you @Ad Huikeshoven, @Akoopal, @Awesome Aasim, @Julle, and @Matěj Suchánek for the ideas you have offered thus far.

Not yet certain

We are not yet certain when the improvements below might be implemented.

• Introducing the tools currently available in the tool's visual mode, to its source mode. T257391
• Adding support adding new topics at varying heading levels. T267288

III. What to expect next

In the next couple of weeks, we will have a functional prototype of the New Discussion Tool for you all to experiment with.

When it's ready, we will make a post on this talk page that includes a link to the prototype as well as instructions for how to try it.

We expect this post to look like the one we made when we had a prototype ready for the Reply Tool. See: Usability test: Reply Tool Version 1.0 prototype.