Wikipedia:Interface changes
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Interface changes annoy people, because people are creatures of habit. That annoyance is usually temporary, because people get used to change, especially when it's a change for the better.
To minimise pain, any interface change should
- be small enough that nobody notices or complains
- be small enough that grumblings don't lead to a "we won't stand for this" snowball of outrage
- be opt-in
- be opt-in for existing users, opt-out for new users
- be easily opt-out for all users
- be important enough to impose despite pissing people off
It's worth observing of course that this list doesn't apply in isolation; it depends on how much prior discussion and testing the interface change had. Given good testing and community collaboration in design for something that's clearly an improvement, even an imposed change that annoys quite a few people will eventually be accepted.
Some examples
- WP:Notifications, which suddenly abolished the Orange Bar
- The watchlist formatting change which led to the creation of the Wikipedia:Customizing watchlists page
- Introduction of the Vector skin