Add an Optimized-for-small-screens category to the Select Journal Style page

[azurelunatic]

Title:
Add an Optimized-for-small-screens category to the Select Journal Style page

Area:
styles, accessibility

Summary:
Test each theme as presented in the Select Journal Style area for how well it behaves on small screens. Put the ones that work well into a category, so people who need this can find them easily. Meta-task: identify accessibility situations with distinct needs, and create theme groups specifically for them.

Description:
This is apropos of a support request where someone had decided against using Dreamwidth because it did not work well for them on a small screen out of the box. Foxfirefey put a good amount of research into finding themes and styles that worked well with small screens. This seems like a situation that will probably come up again, and not every person showing frustration will think to come to Support.

The meta-task, of identifying accessibility situations and creating theme groups for each of those (for example: small screens, light sensitivity/migraines, large font...) sounds as though it would work well paired with FAQs targeted at those same needs from a whole-site-usability standpoint: how to set site skin, where to find and change themes, etc.

Poll #6571 Add an Optimized-for-small-screens category to the Select Journal Style page

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 57

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
54 (94.7%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
0 (0.0%)

(I have no opinion)
3 (5.3%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[matgb]

This, I think, ties into some stuff I've been working on with styles--friend has an Eee with an 800px wide screen, and some of the default styles are basically unusable with them, I had to hack his css around a bit and show him how to force style=mine, he still barely uses the site but that's inclination I think.

But it also applies to some phone browsers and similar, Opera Mini works fine, but I talked to someone on LJ with a Palm Pre who basically won't come to DW on it as too many styles just work awfully--Blogspot has the same problem.

I was working on ways of getting the problem solved, one of them included use of @media CSS, but life got in the way.

Anyway, I approve the sentiment, even if I think that it';s curing a symptom not the actual cause

[azurelunatic]

Yeah, I have Problems on my Palm Pixi. I should really reset some things on there...

[scribblingage]

This is apropos of a support request where someone had decided against using Dreamwidth because it did not work well for them on a small screen out of the box. Foxfirefey put a good amount of research into finding themes and styles that worked well with small screens.

Do you have a link to this, please? I found a style on LJ (A Novel Conundrum - Modern) that works well on my phone, and it would be great to have the same sort of thing for DW?

[foxfirefey]

I have made a post to try and help you and others like you out!

[scribblingage]

Just what I was looking for, thanks!

[briar_pipe]

I like this idea a lot. It would be great to have a set of styles that work well with large font size readily available in one list, instead of testing several styles each time I want to create a new account or change an old one.

[faithofone]

Oh I love this suggestion so much. If there were both good options for small screens and they were easily accessible I might actually stop using persistent style=light.

[green_knight]

Your meta task is *awesome*. (I'd be tempted to suggest an 'accessibility' option and tag styles - 'small screen' 'screen reader' 'OCD (eg, uncluttered)', 'large fonts' etc)

And I also wonder whether it might not be worth providing some of them as global options, parallel to 'style=light' - I don't want to set _my_ style to small screen suitable, and I hate reading other people's journals in my style (because, y'know, that's *my personal* style, so being able to choose 'view in small screen style' would be fantastically useful if I'm using my iPhone and someone's post becomes hard to read.)

[faithofone]

I agree that the meta task is awesome, but I'd avoid the OCD category name.

It's inaccurate to what OCD is (I think you're thinking OCPD), and in my opinion using either OCD or OCPD as a synonym for orderliness is rather offensive. In my opinion it's akin to the way people use "gay" or "retarded" to mean something is bad.

[green_knight]

Sorry, that was a bad choice, and it's the sort of thing that would need consultation before implementing, precisely *to* avoid offending people :-(

As far as I understand (from previous discussions) this is a real accessibility problem for some users - some site layouts are so full of distractions that it becomes difficult to find and engage with the content. I don't feel you can classify it as 'orderly' vs 'confusing': when the same layout helps some users to find what they're looking for and makes it harder for others, those terms just aren't applicable, but users looking for an uncluttered layout that *doesn't* contain too many distractions should be able to find them easily.

[azurelunatic]

streamlined, simplified, uncluttered, low-distraction?

[faithofone]

Apology accepted. And I hope that I didn't jump on you too hard about it, we good?

It really is an issue of accessibility for some, and I think a really important one. Fully support specifically giving a category for that sort of thing. I like the name suggestions azurelunatic posted above.

[green_knight]

we good?

Definitely. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by casually hurting other people, and I'd rather be called when I do than go around hurting others.

I think I like 'streamlined' best - it describes what they do without negative connotations.