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Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

tonsky.me

131–140 of 315 posts

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#131
You should make a browser extension to add css/js to apply your changes so people can try it and/or permanently change it just for them. Even better if you add a bunch of options to turn them on or off (like if you want to move everything, but keep the old design).

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#132
post #17

> If you are a programmer, you might be surprised but other people normally don’t like hierarchies. Nested structures are hard to grasp, remember, navigate, and grouping is very often non-intuitive. Nested tabs are one of the worst UI patterns out there. GitHub is primarily a development tool, so it should be designed for developers. Hierarchies align very well with development tasks, so it's natural to use them for…

I think the two natures of Github as a tool for software development and Github as a social coding site are often at odds. Some ways this could be reconciled: - greater end user customization of the UI layout - an option to enter a different UI(contributor UI) for repositories you contribute to/own - make the contributor UI an enhancement on top of the current UI(perhaps a new darker tab bar) - related to the above,…

The only thing I've ever seen actually work is a desktop environment. I did a proof of concept for the Coast Guard using Ozone [0]. It basically acts like a desktop, where widgets are individual frames that act like windows with cross-communication ability.

But even then, internal configuration of widgets is the same problem as before, just scope-limited...

[0] https://github.com/ozoneplatform/owf-framework/wiki

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#133
Please don't remove the last commit touching a file. I personally love know what parts of the code have been last updated at a glance.

> Why? I don’t know. Commits often touch files for completely arbitrary reasons, so the last commit tells you almost nothing. I can’t think of any case when somebody would need that particular information.

Way to shove your opinions on everyone else.

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#134
post #17

> If you are a programmer, you might be surprised but other people normally don’t like hierarchies. Nested structures are hard to grasp, remember, navigate, and grouping is very often non-intuitive. Nested tabs are one of the worst UI patterns out there. GitHub is primarily a development tool, so it should be designed for developers. Hierarchies align very well with development tasks, so it's natural to use them for…

I think the two natures of Github as a tool for software development and Github as a social coding site are often at odds. Some ways this could be reconciled: - greater end user customization of the UI layout - an option to enter a different UI(contributor UI) for repositories you contribute to/own - make the contributor UI an enhancement on top of the current UI(perhaps a new darker tab bar) - related to the above,…

GitHub should go full MySpace, completely custom css per project.

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#135
This was really good, up until the 'refresh'. Why get rid of most of the visual structure right after you spent all that effort making it cohesive?

I especially like the code + commit activity + stats in the overview page, when visiting a new repository the initial code view is almost never what I want to see.

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#136

First rule of design: Know your user. Second rule of design: You (the designer) are not the user. I think the general criticisms here are because this designer didn't follow these 2 basic rules.

They have >500 commits on Github in the last year. I’m pretty sure that makes them a user: https://github.com/tonsky

First rule of life: don’t stereotype people (“designers aren’t coders”). Second rule: check before leveling ad hominems.

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#137
post #17

> If you are a programmer, you might be surprised but other people normally don’t like hierarchies. Nested structures are hard to grasp, remember, navigate, and grouping is very often non-intuitive. Nested tabs are one of the worst UI patterns out there. GitHub is primarily a development tool, so it should be designed for developers. Hierarchies align very well with development tasks, so it's natural to use them for…

> When I'm working with a GitHub project, I commonly want to load up the page and navigate to some files. If not, it's usually not much scrolling to get down to the README. The solution I'm using currently for the git repos hosted on my personal site [0] is to show the projects file tree above the README, but allow it to be collapsed by clicking on the projects root directory. Originally, the project tree was collaps…

Is the front end itself available?

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#138
post #17

> If you are a programmer, you might be surprised but other people normally don’t like hierarchies. Nested structures are hard to grasp, remember, navigate, and grouping is very often non-intuitive. Nested tabs are one of the worst UI patterns out there. GitHub is primarily a development tool, so it should be designed for developers. Hierarchies align very well with development tasks, so it's natural to use them for…

> When I'm working with a GitHub project, I commonly want to load up the page and navigate to some files. If not, it's usually not much scrolling to get down to the README. The solution I'm using currently for the git repos hosted on my personal site [0] is to show the projects file tree above the README, but allow it to be collapsed by clicking on the projects root directory. Originally, the project tree was collaps…

Do you mean that your metrics showed that few people were expanding the tree, so you made it expanded by default?

I would interpret the data as meaning that most people don’t care about the list of files, so it’s better for them to be hidden by default.

Re: Redesigning GitHub Repository Page

#140
If given a vote, I'd stay with the current design. But some of the problems identified are legit. I certainly think it can be improved, but not sure this is quite what it should be. I think more thought needs to be put in to what various people want to do/see when they hit that page.
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