Wikipedia talk:2008 main page redesign proposal/Mangler13

I like the box-borders. I like Show/Hide! The puzzle pieces under the words [show] and [hide] are unnecessary. Can the language list in the far left column be shortened? If so, the page with all "hidden" would be very neat indeed.

I think that when icons are used, they should be big enough to really see. Fine in Portals, unnecessary in the headings of OTD and the like.

Some proposals have combined featured article and featured pic in one box, "featured content", something to consider. (And there the star meaning featured should be included.) Rather 2 featured articles than including a GA, I think.

Somewhere, perhaps just above Portals, or just below, should be a short section addressed to the new user who'd like to become a contributor, I think.

Good work! --Hordaland (talk) 11:51, 13 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your suggestions about my page Hordaland.

1. Puzzle pieces:

They are purely for decoration. If they make the page look messy I will consider removing them, if not I plan to leave them. I feel quite a few of the proposed pages lack decoration.

2. Language list:

The language list in the far left column is part of the Wikipedia non-editable area as far as I know, so I do not believe it can be edited. If there is a way, I do not know about it. I like the "hidden" look as well.

3. Icons:

Again, purely for decoration. I do not want a bland page. If I were to make the icons in OTD bigger, the proportions would not look right. In addition, if I remove them, it would make the page more bland and common.

4. Some proposals:

I have seen some of the articles that combine featured article and photo of the day. It is not a bad idea, but I like my set-ups very neat and simple, combining the two sections would make it too long and not look as nice in my opinion. I do have a star on the featured article section.

5. Contributor:

Can you elaborate on this? I am not entirely sure what you are trying to say. I understand where you would want me to put this suggested section, but what is the section?

1. I have nothing against puzzle pieces, as such, if they were clearly visible. But if you didn't already know what they are, you'd wonder about that fuzzy stuff hidden under [show] and [hide], I think.

2. You may well be right. But the search box in the left column has recently been moved up, so that column isn't entirely holy. The French main page has a shorter list.

5. You have linked "anyone can edit", but otherwise there's very little to encourage someone who might want to try editing. I think the main page should also be used for recruiting. I think I'll go look for an example in one or two of the other proposals...

Thanks for answering! --Hordaland (talk) 02:12, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

5., again. Two examples:

Gnangarra links up top to Wikipedia Editing Tutorial and has a section lower down called Other areas.
Wintran 4 has a very prominent section: What is Wikipedia.

That sort of thing was what I meant, an aid to find the "How to" stuff. --Hordaland (talk) 02:27, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]