This task is about introducing new page-level elements to talk pages to help people immediately recognize talk pages as places where editors talk and to get a sense for the level of activity happening with these pages.
We will likely need to create two different "frames" and have sub-tasks for each one:
- A frame for talk pages in the User namespace
- A frame for talk pages in all other namespaces. [i]
User Stories
- As a Junior Contributor who is viewing a talk page for the first time, I want to instantly recognize the page as containing conversations, so that I can accurately understand and use talk pages as places to communicate with other people and decide whether this page is worth exploring further in this moment.
- As a Senior Contributor who is visiting a talk page I haven't visited before/in a while, I want to easily understand the level of activity/discussion on the talk page, so that I can decide where I ought to consult others and/or review previous discussions before making the change(s) I am seeking to.
Open questions
-
What – if any – existing elements are shown at the top of talk pages, immediately beneath the page title, that any design would need to consider?This question will be answered in T303662. - How might bottom-posting [ii]] impact the likelihood of the following happening? via @Johnuniq in Enable Article / Talk tab bar for mobile anon users at en.wiki.
- People accessing their user talk page, particularly on mobile, will see the new messages others have left for them.
- People accessing subject talk pages, particularly on mobile, will see the newest conversations about the content they are reading and/or editing.
i. The distinction I have in mind between user talk pages and all other talk pages is as follows: user talk pages are unique in so far as the "artifact" they are adjoined to (read: the User page) represents a person's identity whereas talk pages in all other non-User namespaces are adjoined to an artifact that is being collaborative created and maintained.
ii. The conversations started most recently are posted to the bottom of talk pages.
)){kind=link}