Wikipedia talk:Help desk/Header

Edit request on 28 January 2012

Change the text "how to use or edit" from pink to red. It is quite hard to read on some monitors. Rcsprinter (converse) 18:02, 28 January 2012 (UTC) Rcsprinter (converse) 18:02, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

Per the page history it seems that Orangemike changed red to green to avoid the appearance of a red link, then Fuhghettaboutit changed it from Green to Fuchsia (pink) in an attempt to have the same look at this effect as Red. I changed it as I thought it was a reasonable request but undid my edit from looking at the history - this needs discussion - perhaps we need an alternative colour? The Helpful One 14:34, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Declining for now. Let's see if we can have a discussion as to whether this is even a problem before even more ping-pong with the colour of the bikeshed font. FWIW I wouldn't pick red, as not only is that a colour indicating severity (this is not a warning of any sort) but is also the canonical colour for broken Web links, especially on Wikipedia. Chris Cunningham (user:thumperward) (talk) 16:14, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

High-risk?

This seems to have been full-protected 4 years ago and left that way ever since. Perhaps it was needed at the time, but I don't see a reason now. Even the noticeboard headers aren't full-protected. The only real (live-use, non-user) transclusion is on this page. Knowing full well of the better-safe-than-sorry argument, generally we don't accept that approach to justify full protection. Can someone change this to semi-protect? Equazcion ^(talk) 12:22, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Reformattings

I have a few thoughts about this header:

1. For real-time help:
   • While indications are that IRC is still technically active, Discord almost certainly must be more familiar to potential querants.
   • Do we want to add Discord to the real-time help bullet?
   • Do we want to replace the suggestion of IRC with the suggestion of Discord?
   • If either of the above, do we want to provide a direct external link (already present as a clickable mw-button at WP:DISCORD) to https://discord.com/invite/wikipedia?
2. Check back on this page to see if your question has been answered:
   • As of I think 2023? or maybe 2024?, topic subscriptions are part of the default skins for mobile and desktop.
   • Do we want to add "Subscribe" as a suggestion for following the progress of a querant's thread?
3. Relative placement of new topic and search box:
   • on mobile, without the PC ambox, the "Ask a question" mw-button just barely creeps in the bottom of the first scroll; the "search the FAQ / Help desk archives" search boxen are lower down, less visible, and a much less obvious choice
   • Do we want to move the search boxen above the "Ask a question" button?
   • I have no data on whether this will resolve anyone's questions quicklier, or if people not visiting the FAQ is a problem at all, given how well staffed HD is. It still seems like best practice to try to direct querants to information sources that will allow them to solve their problems themselves, especially if we're trying to grow good editors.

Anyway seems like this template is due for some updates. Please discuss these / suggest your own / boldly implement yourself / ignore entirely, as your heart dictates. Folly Mox (talk) 17:27, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm generally opposed to promoting the Wikimedia Community Discord as a help venue. The moderation tools we have on Discord just aren't as fine-grained as the ones available on IRC, both for dealing with disruptive helpees, well-meaning but unhelpful helpers, and the paid editors who lurk in the shadows. We also don't have a great way to replicate #wikipedia-en-helpers, which I saw as vital to the operation of -en-help when it was busier, and I wouldn't want to direct folks somewhere without such a support system. AntiCompositeNumber (talk) 03:02, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

That's good information! Thank you. Folly Mox (talk) 14:16, 16 November 2024 (UTC)