49 posts tagged with usability.
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Slow for everyone? Or just me?

I've noticed that MetaFilter pages are coming up slower than usual for me, here on the east coast of the US. It's regularly taking between 2 and 18 seconds for content to show. This is isn't the case for my connection on other web sites. So, I ran some page load measuring tools that try to get a sense for how things load from various places in the world. [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Jan 5, 2024 - 15 comments

Touch My Pony (iOS)

Is there anything that can be done about being locked out of editing a draft post after changing tabs or exiting the editing box on iOS Safari? [more inside]
posted by snuffleupagus on Jul 20, 2021 - 14 comments

Time to change from HTML?

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before recently, but are there any plans to change or add on text coding options beyond HTML? Like Markdown or rich text? [more inside]
posted by divabat on Mar 5, 2020 - 68 comments

A better way to favorite on a mobile device

When I'm using a mobile device, I'd love a better way to favorite (or flag) items, so that I can engage with MetaFilter more. The goal here would be increased usability, accessibility, engagement and enjoyment. [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on Oct 11, 2018 - 28 comments

Can we get a bigger text box on Mobile Modern?

The text box for posting comments on mobile (I'm talking about Modern theme here; Classic has similar but slightly different issues) is really small. It makes it hard for me to write more than a couple sentences without losing track of what I was talking about. Sometimes I just give up. Can it be bigger? [more inside]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The on Sep 12, 2018 - 16 comments

Warning for MeMail to disabled accounts

If a user has a disabled account, the user's profile page lacks a link to send MeFi Mail, effectively preventing us from sending that user MeMail. But most of the MeMails I send are via replies. When I reply, there is no warning if the user has disabled the account. It can be a little surprising to realize that one has been sending messages essentially into the ether, although I presume the messages are preserved for the user's return. Can we get a warning when sending a MeMail to a user with a disabled account?
posted by grouse on Apr 7, 2013 - 29 comments

Inconsistent Preview/Post buttons

The position of the Preview and Post buttons is inconsistent. [more inside]
posted by Lanark on Feb 5, 2013 - 43 comments

The title-display question

Is the title-display question closed? If so, is there any alternative other than the 0%-size solution? [more inside]
posted by kalapierson on Jan 28, 2013 - 106 comments

Post/Preview buttons

The new css Post/Preview buttons buttons added last year don't have any :active styling. [more inside]
posted by Lanark on Mar 23, 2012 - 6 comments

Pony: Easier way to access mobile site

Pony: An easier way to revert to the mobile site. Current link is 1. tiny and 2. all the way at the bottom. [more inside]
posted by Nameless on Dec 22, 2009 - 13 comments

Long threads on iPhone? Yuck.

Browsing long(ish) MeFi posts on my iPhone makes me want to kick puppies. Every time I hit refresh to see new comments, a little piece of me dies as I look forward to another six minutes of flicking my finger down the screen. I know, I should be lucky to have such problems, am I right? Anyway. [more inside]
posted by kbanas on Dec 2, 2009 - 57 comments

Very-trivial-but-just-noticed-this-usability-thing-so-I'm-throwing-it-out-there-as-a-pony-request.

I've just noticed that the text that I type into the search box beneath the links to sub-sites does not carry over when I browse from sub-site to sub-site. I know that Google (on FF 3.011) does this between its different sub-sites and I find it very useful because it eliminates the Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V keystrokes (or retyping for the less computer savvy) when you are using the same search terms between sub-sites.
posted by mrmojoflying on Jun 26, 2009 - 4 comments

Connecting the dots

A minor enhancement for Ask (maybe).. [more inside]
posted by a non e mouse on Jun 9, 2009 - 17 comments

Here we go again....

Frustrating [more inside]
posted by joaniek on Aug 22, 2008 - 11 comments

Not sure what to search for

Yeah. I know this makes me seem wildly stupid, but... I was trying to post a question on AskMe. I wanted to post it anonomously. (It was a medical question.) But I couldn't figure it out. I either had to post under my pseudonym, or I had to get a new account. That can't be right?
posted by Dumsnill on Aug 4, 2008 - 47 comments

recursive linking?

Why do people keep linking back to the thread they're in? [more inside]
posted by Who_Am_I on Jul 16, 2008 - 32 comments

Where are my check marks?

Minor interface annoyance: on the AskMe category pages in the sidebar, answered questions don't show check marks as they do on the front page. [more inside]
posted by shadow vector on Mar 29, 2008 - 3 comments

Small Favorites are Small.

I like My Favorites when it's legible... [more inside]
posted by SpiffyRob on Feb 1, 2008 - 4 comments

Reciprocity is a bitch.

Tiny Contacts Pony! [more inside]
posted by SassHat on Dec 8, 2007 - 10 comments

this is the TITLE box, isn't it?

How are people putting their main question in the title box in AskMe so often? Is something wrong with the form? [more inside]
posted by jessamyn on Nov 12, 2007 - 140 comments

Feature - tabbing behaviour

Pedantfilter: Changing the order of tabbing to ease my tired, jaded, old fingers. [more inside]
posted by Brockles on Nov 5, 2007 - 34 comments

New windows launch on clicking very boring link

I have metafilter set to open all links in a new window so I can enjoy sweet, sweet linkage while still keeping my wholesome metafilter goodness. It's very, very convenient. However, just now I was posting to the blue and when I deleted my كشري tag (I guess Arabic support is out of the question?) clicking on the [x] spawned a new window. It probably shouldn't do that, since most similar links (adding favorites, top nav, pretty much anything other than a link in a post or comment) don't.
posted by Deathalicious on Apr 19, 2007 - 28 comments

New UI feature: resizable textareas

We're testing out a new resizable textarea feature. If you'll notice the comments area of any MetaTalk thread, there are some grab handles on the side and bottom of the comment box. Stretch that to a usable size, and it will set a cookie as your new default textarea size. The default size is the same as it was, so people that don't use it should be unaffected. We'll add it to other sites as long as it's working for most people here.
posted by mathowie on Apr 12, 2007 - 143 comments

Functional, clear design & intuitive systems would improve MetaFilter

A Short Post In Which I Suggest: 1. Good Design Doesn’t Need Explanatory Diagrams, and 2. A Thorough and Simple Search Mechanism Would Prevent Many Double Posts.
posted by Milkman Dan on Apr 10, 2007 - 71 comments

link me inside

Minor AskMe usability gripe: Can [more inside] be a link to the thread? When a question is unanswered, the only way to get into the thread is by clicking "0 Answers." It seems more logical to click on [more inside].
posted by eyeballkid on Apr 4, 2007 - 7 comments

No officer, I'm not small. I'm TALL!

Keeping in mind that the restriction on using html to make the words "posted by" small in comments may not be obvious to all site users, could the error message returned by the post comment action be more informative? The current error message reads "Your comment appears to be blank, go back and try again." Also, could relevant text be added to the How do I use HTML in my posts? FAQ if you please?
posted by carsonb on Mar 22, 2007 - 20 comments

add to playlist from music index

Why can't I add to playlist from the index page of music mefi?
posted by BrotherCaine on Feb 16, 2007 - 10 comments

MeFi on Wii is a massive pain in the ass but it works

Well, as it turns out, posting to Metafilter using opera on the wii is a massive pain in the ass. But it works, as this clearly shows.
posted by Effigy2000 on Dec 21, 2006 - 51 comments

More functionality from project, music listings

In the projects RSS feed, the URL points to the submitted project, not the projects page, so in order to vote or comment I have to go to projects and find the link manually. Also, it would be nice if on the music page, you could favorite and playlist songs right from the main listing, rather then just on the individual song pages, so that if you're listening to a bunch of songs, in order, you could favorite without needing to change pages.
posted by Paris Hilton on Aug 3, 2006 - 4 comments

My Profile link at top, not bottom, pls

QuickPony: Any chance we can please see the My Profile link bumped up to the top navigation bar, next to My Comments and Favorites? I love the quick-and-dirty account overview, but I don't love the scroll-to-bottom, or click through to main page, click user name action. (Or too much clutter? Discuss.)
posted by disillusioned on Jul 20, 2006 - 9 comments

Marking best answers with checkmarks individually

A wee small pony: could best answers in AskMe threads be marked individually with the checkmark icon?
posted by Zed_Lopez on Jul 14, 2006 - 20 comments

AskMe format and useability

Love/Hate: I can't read AskMeFi (CSS help?). Does anyone have an external CSS file or a setting or a magic pixie dust that makes these pages we're on more readable?

I tried posting this question to askmefi, but got prompted with a "prob better on metatalk" denial. There is no Category for help, so I'm putting this under feature requests...

I'm using firefox (which offers more solutions) to read these pages and I find the colors, indentation, lack of structure so hard to follow. I would love something that had alternating row (posts) colors and a way to really tell the difference between a post, a comment, a response, whatever.

Any usability specialists out there with the same beef? I love the content, its just the presentation that drives me batty. (I do use RSS to choose what to read, but once I click in...boomsucka...I feel like I'm in a all green library with green books green carpeting a couple yellow magazines and no cataloging of any sort.

I've got this "developer" extension for firefox installed so I can change/tweak/alter a lot of things including fonts, external css files, whatever. Please send help...I'm sinking.
posted by wogbat on Jun 13, 2006 - 20 comments

making multiple links more visible

Just a style suggestion for links that include single words with multiple links.

A period ('.'), or a middle dot ('·' ·), or even a spacing cedilla ('¸' ¸) between the links would make it a lot less annoying, especially for those of us with motor control problems. I'm not suggesting this as any sort of rule, just as a nicety.
posted by Kickstart70 on Feb 10, 2006 - 26 comments

Askme tag/best answer collision

In AskMetafilter, if the tags box extends into a highlighted "best answer" box, the two collide instead of readjusting for each other. This includes a text wrap-around. I demand perfection down to the pixel.
posted by geoff. on Jan 6, 2006 - 3 comments

Small usability suggestion for the "MetaFilter comments by:" page

Small usability suggestion for the "MetaFilter comments by:" page (example).

When a user has made more than one comment in a thread, there are multiple "jump to the comment in this thread" links you can use to see them all. The weird thing is that they are storted top-to-bottom newest-to-oldest. Can you reverese sort these links, so that clicking the first link takes you to the first comment, and clicking the last link takes you to the last comment? This seems that it would more closely match the structure of the thread it's linking to.
posted by scarabic on Nov 21, 2005 - 16 comments

Have you seen CSS3 columns in Firefox 1.5 beta 1 yet?

Have you seen CSS3 columns in Firefox 1.5 beta 1 yet? Do you think they make ask mefi easier to read on huge monitors? Here's a avi demo movie of them in action.
posted by mathowie on Sep 12, 2005 - 12 comments

Can we get the login screen to automatically set focus?

[PonyRequest] Can we get the login screen to automatically set focus to the User Name textbox, using some fancy javascript?
posted by blue_beetle on Sep 8, 2005 - 7 comments

Imagine if MeFi were ONLY links

Nothing but links... [+]
posted by cedar on Mar 15, 2005 - 13 comments

Visualizing most popular tags

Right now, the top-150 tag page seems like sort of a novelty. "Art", "music" and "flash" are going to be huge, but the vast majority of tags seem to get shunted into the lower mid-range such that there's not a lot of perceived difference tag-to-tag or day-to-day. Over time, I'd imagine we'd see the same sort of homogeneity that characterizes the Flickr tag sizes.

The idea is to add some more dimension to the information display, showing not only popularity, but time-based "freshness" of tags and ordering them alphabetically rather than hierarchically for easier browsing ala the full tags listing. If time could be added as an organizational principle, people who aren't obsessive readers of mefi could use the top-150 page as a viable entry point to the site for finding new posts of interest.

Quick-and-dirty HTML example here. (or screenshot).
posted by Jeff Howard on Jan 23, 2005 - 19 comments

MeFi: 1, 2, 3 years ago.

MeFi: 1, 2, 3 years ago.
Being a big fan O' the side blog I noticed that 4 years ago now works as well... Also, Mefi & Blog are both not in the spell check.
Is it better to post little things like this here? AIM? Email? What's the preferred method of submitting little bugs?
posted by Blake on Sep 8, 2003 - 12 comments

What's the difference between Post Title and Link Title?

So, um... what's a POST TITLE, and how is it different from a LINK TITLE?
posted by crunchland on Nov 15, 2002 - 7 comments

UI issue in MeFi search

Hardly Life Threatening......but..........
posted by lampshade on Oct 7, 2002 - 12 comments

Font consistency

The font in MeTa is 8pt, but it's 10pt in MeFi. I'm logged in and the customization is set at 10pt. The values appear in the inline style instructions (font-size for "p" is 8/10pt depending on source). I was messing around with the customization settings yesterday, but this appears when viewing new threads so it's not a cache thing. And I'm using Moz 1.0, but I don't think it's a browser thing because you can see the numbers in the page sources...
posted by andrew cooke on Jul 22, 2002 - 9 comments

I'd switch to Opera except MeFi doesn't look right

I'm trying to see if Opera for Mac might be something to switch to. But, at least in Mefi/Metatalk, my font Metafilter font preferences, while they seem to register in "Customize" Mefi, do not take hold. Is there something in Opera: I can't get the font smaller; and there's too much space between lines of text. Is there something I'm not adjusting in OPERA?
posted by ParisParamus on Mar 7, 2002 - 7 comments

How about subtly altering the color of every other post?

I have trouble sometimes telling posts apart when people use multiple paragraphs. How about subtly altering the color of every other post to improve readability? For example alternating white and light grey.
posted by phatboy on Feb 25, 2002 - 32 comments

mefi channels?

Is this an old idea? Make a series of littler mefis, maybe mefi channels, run by Matt-designated hosts.
posted by pracowity on Feb 1, 2002 - 51 comments

Do you also skip the posts?

I'm traveling far from home for first time since 9-11, and when I visit Metafilter, I find myself every time going straight to read member's comments, without first (in some cases ever) visiting the posted link. Is this shallow of me, or a simple craving for community spirit? Have others experienced this?
posted by Voyageman on Nov 26, 2001 - 20 comments

I see a blank page before me

Lofi Mefi's style sheet suggests a text and background color for body (black on white). This is fine unless some moron (i.e., me) has default colors of mint green text on a black background with white links. The mint green and black background are overridden but the white links end up on your white background.

Assuming a user's default link color is blue could lead to unreadable links, so please add at least colors for links (there already is a color on a:hover, but no background). (Alternately, if you want, remove all color suggestions from the style sheet.)
posted by gleemax on Nov 10, 2001 - 8 comments

Options in Sort By... dropdown don't show up

Some options on the Sort By drop down list don't show by default. After goofing around, the 'my comments' item shows up. Details inside...

posted by daver on Sep 17, 2001 - 4 comments

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