Problem is we are discussing (at least) three different questions here
a) Design
b) Usability
c) Cleaning up / Modernizing the code base
Regarding...
... a Design
Most visitors here are passive and silent and just read. And IMHO is PM alone responsible for a huge part of Perl's web presence.
So improving the design should be priority, and something like TobyInk's solution proves that it can be without changing the code base (even with a responsive design for mobiles).
... b Usability
Toby's solution is also changing the UI somehow, this by parsing and relocating buttons and menus.
And I agree that this could be facilitated by changing / adding some CSS classes. But this too can be done without revolutionizing the code with just some little patches. °
... c Modernizing
In theory the migration to a new code base with real MVC separation (Catalyst, Mojolicious, ... ) would be beneficial, but I don't see this happening soon (or rather never). ²
update
fixed "mobile" typos
footnotes
°) I'm already using several private nodelet hacks to improve my mobile experience
²) Probably you are aware of problems I don't know about ... (for me this looks like a Perl6-like generation project). | [reply] |
I agree. For my personal perspective, as a potential volunteer, c blocks a and b. If a job is even 10% harder than it absolutely needs to be, I'm'a complain about it. I think without c, a and especially b (Ajax voting, readily available data, tagging system, all the things that make StackOverflow pleasant), is more than 10% harder.
With the state of JS today, you could essentially do a complete rewrite of the site using the backend as little more than a data store but you'd be constrained to the schema, the encoding quirks, the sub-HTML rules, and more, I'm sure.
The reason I come here is the community and culture as much as the expertise and this is a text based profession so, again personally, I don't care that much about the design and old-fashioned UI. Some monk with reading difficulty is going to assert I said nothing should be done. I didn't. I'd love a revamped site. I just don't volunteer others for jobs I'm unwilling to do.
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Hey
Thanks. I'm not trying to "volunteer" you, I just prefer to (over ;) analyze a project before getting involved!
So questioning you're reasoning results in more informations. ..
Not sure what
- Ajax voting, (why should this be hard?)
- readily available data, (?)
- tagging system, (well we have tags. ..)
- the schema, (can't tell)
- the encoding quirks, (?)
- the sub-HTML rules, (???) °
- and more,
Actually mean in detail, but my primary concern is the visual representation of the Perl community. (Updated some comments out of curiosity )
Compare Metacpan to Cpan, just the visual impression.
I haven't seen a modern responsive design yet without JS, and JS is a good mean to get people involved who don't dare reading all Tolstoy's developer wiki. ;)
Though I have to say your ...
> If a job is even 10% harder than it absolutely needs to be,
... reasoning sounds like a perfect justification to abandon Perl 5 and to wait til 6 is ready. :b
°) are sub-html rules followed by sub-humans? ;-p
update
Added comments to list of deficiencies
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