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Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

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Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#251

Post by DreamScatter »

bconnorwhite wrote: post #234

This is the MacOS 11 thread all over again. Apparently no one on HN has been through a redesign... For those of you complaining, congratulations, you've discovered ~ nostalgia ~ In two weeks you'll inevitably find the old design ugly, and forget GitHub ever looked any other way. In 5 years, each will get another round of improved designs, and there will be a thread on HN full of people complaining about how the new d…

The new design is terrible. If it actually made the website easier to use, then I would be all for it. Unfortunately this is an actual step backwards in functionality and information layout design.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#254

Post by fireattack »

zowanet wrote: post #78

I don't like change. I don't like the circular avatars - I don't need the place I store my code to feel like a social network. But the worst change for me is that the 'Languages' section is now below the fold. Now I have to scroll to find out if I should ignore the latest compiler, package manager or system tool because it was written in JavaScript. Edit: Gah! I only noticed this by directly comparing old and new, bu…

Agreed.

Language color bar is one of the most iconic and useful design of GitHub IMO (not sure if GitHub invented it though, since GitLab has it too). It's a shame it gets moved.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#255

Post by the-pigeon »

spenczar5 wrote: post #123
AlexandrB wrote: post #87

This is getting cliche. With any modern UI redesign you can immediately guess what's changed: * Removed/reduced visual separation between elements * Flattened things more * More padding Modern UI designers are strikingly unoriginal.

I want UI designers to be unoriginal. I wish they were less original. I don't like learning new visual languages every 5 years; I want intuitive interfaces, which mostly means familiar interfaces.

JUST STOP CHANGING THE UI FOR NO REASON!

You wouldn't re-write a whole app without a very solid engineering reason.

But site after site re-does their UI without any stated reason.

For companies I've worked for we did new UI designs because they thought it would increase sales, even though it threw out all the sales optimizations we made in the last design. So, it was always a negative for sales.

It's just a big waste of money that upsets users. I understand tiny startups having CEOs that do it out of ignorance. But large organizations should know better.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#256

Post by jmeshell »

gregmac wrote: post #199
7ewis wrote: post #159

I know obviously files are important in GitHub, but for the opening page of a random repo I think I would actually prefer to see the README first. I just went to the Explore page and picked the first repo: https://github.com/johannesboyne/gofakes3 You have to scroll so far down to find out what the project _actually is_. I know there's an about message on the right, but it's not great. The new UI does look more moder…

Agreed! Related: I was updating a bunch of dependencies yesterday, and so was going through looking at what's new in a handful where I was behind a major version or more. "Releases" is even harder to find now (it's in the sidebar). I've never understood why it's relegated to a being a sub-item of "code" when it seems to me it should be on the same as information hierarchy level as "issues" "wiki" etc. I'd really like…

I’d love to learn more about this! Why would a top level of Releases be useful?

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#258

Post by bE9a3S5So8igd3 »

The worst redesign yet. It looks even worse than an early version of Gogs I tried. Of course, if you're paying designers they ultimately have to design something even if it's crap. Ideal github design was maybe in 2012.

Unrelated to the redesign, but the documentation for things like Actions just scream "microsoft." It was really hard for me to find the important information; had to sift through pages of abstraction gunk where things aren't explained clearly or with code. Felt like IBM product pages. Very non-github. This clueless internet-explorer-type design trend will almost certainly continue IMO. They simply can't help theirselves.

Unfortunately I also don't like gitlab or bitbucket. Github circa 2012 was the gold standard for the design solution, while everything else was cluttered or pad-y or overreliant on side navigation. Now everything sucks.

What's sad? Actually, you can find the classic (good) github design alive and well in China: https://gitee.com/drinkjava2/frog

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#259

Post by bconnorwhite »

mixologic wrote: post #245
bconnorwhite wrote: post #234

This is the MacOS 11 thread all over again. Apparently no one on HN has been through a redesign... For those of you complaining, congratulations, you've discovered ~ nostalgia ~ In two weeks you'll inevitably find the old design ugly, and forget GitHub ever looked any other way. In 5 years, each will get another round of improved designs, and there will be a thread on HN full of people complaining about how the new d…

Low information density means "less clutter" for somebody new to the interface, but it means "many more steps" to provide all the information that a dense design allows for. So much design fails to take into account human expertise, and our ability to learn complex interfaces. They get the A/B treatment which optimizes for beginners, which always leans towards the simpler, easier design. This is why we'll never get a…

Excel today is still cleaner than Excel 2010, and Google Sheets easier to use than both. Most spreadsheet users simply don't need the extra functionality Excel provides, and the few users that do need this use the product enough to have memorized the keyboard shortcuts.

Re: Ask HN: Thoughts on new GitHub layout?

#260

Post by [deleted] »

ithkuil wrote: post #147
bcrosby95 wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. I've seen the concept of "vocal minority vs silent majority" used as justification to push through a change. So even if you get only bad feedback, it still goes through because most people said nothing, which means most people like it.

Or most people hated it but didn't love the product enough to care to comment. Perhaps the design of the feedback form matters. I wasn't part of the beta so I don't know how they asked.

[deleted]
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