8

Currently when we edit the "My Communities" list in the top bar, we have to:

  1. Type at least part of the desired site name.
  2. Click the item that shows up.
  3. Click "Add".

Three whole steps! If I want to add 30 sites, it means long minutes spent on this.

How can we make it easier and faster to edit? Suggestions are welcome. :)

Improve this question
0

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
9

I'm on board with simplifying the workflow here in principle, but dragging sites in from "More Communities" doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

For one, it gives the impression that the "More Communities" list is mutable. It's not. You cannot remove sites from it. For another, oh god the scrolling it hurts please make it stop.

(As an aside, I'd expect adding 30+ sites to the list to be an edge case, but we're still monitoring how people use this feature.)

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    Good points. What about adding small + icon next to each site in the "More Communities" list when editing, that when clicked will add that community to the "My Communities" list?
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 5, 2014 at 18:38
  • @ShadowWizard Hmm, I like that.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 5, 2014 at 18:39
  • So what to do now? Change the question to reflect this new suggestion?
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 5, 2014 at 18:41
  • @ShadowWizard Good question. Edit to make it a more general "make it easier to add sites" request, keep the initial suggestion (so that my answer doesn't look completely insane :)), and then add the new one?
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 5, 2014 at 18:42
  • Done, comments on the question itself can be cleared as well. Will add the suggestion from my first comment as new answer too.
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:45
  • @ShadowWizard Great, thanks.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:46
9

Another option is adding small + icon next to each site in the "More Communities" list when editing, that when clicked will add that community to the "My Communities" list:

Improve this answer
6
  • Hmm, that's also probably not going to happen. I was thinking "+" signs on the search dropdown when you're typing in a site name in the editor control. I really would rather not mix the two sections together since the editor right now is fairly standalone and the discoverability of "oh hey, I gotta scroll down to this other place and click a few pluses" is even worse than what we got now.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 6, 2014 at 0:03
  • I think there is room for some workflow improvements to this feature (possibly integrating it better into the rest of the site switcher), but for the moment we're still keeping an eye on how it's used first.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 6, 2014 at 0:04
  • 2
    I like the appearance change here as an indication of a change in functionality, but making me target a tiny little "+" is cruel.
    – Shog9
    Mar 6, 2014 at 0:05
  • @AnnaLear sorry for the confusion and no big deal, what you suggest also make sense. Want me to post yet another answer with mockup of this? This combined with Shog idea of keyboard navigation is a win-win situation! :-)
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 6, 2014 at 0:05
  • @ShadowWizard If you like. I'm not too worried about it, but it wouldn't hurt to see how the votes would go on that one.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Mar 6, 2014 at 0:06
  • @AnnaLear done. Idea is yours, hence CW. :)
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 6, 2014 at 7:25
5

Keyboard support would go a long way here, IMHO. I have to have my hands on the keyboard to type at least part of a site's name - so why can't I arrow down to actually select it or hit enter to add it?

Failing that, a method that displayed the entire list and let me scroll and click without ever touching the keyboard would still be less involved - but frankly, that sounds awful compared to a solution that lets me just type.

Improve this answer
4
  • Disclaimer: I haven't used this at all, since I navigate between sites by typing URLs into my browser's address bar and letting it auto-complete them (or selecting from the list in the case of site names that begin with "math") - if I'm going to use on-site navigation, it'd have to beat that for speed and/or convenience, which for all its charms the sites dropdown hasn't really hit yet.
    – Shog9
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:51
  • Such feature is already suggested, unless I missed the point here?
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:52
  • Different search box, @Shadow - there are two of them now. The one that pops up when you're editing your custom list behaves differently from the one that's visible by default. Also, that post is a duplicate of yet another suggestion... (but it's a bit better thought-out, so I've closed the older suggestion)
    – Shog9
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:54
  • True, though I think adding keyboard navigation to both will make more sense. Thanks!
    – Shadow Wizard Says No More War
    Mar 5, 2014 at 23:59
5

One more idea, inspired by Adam Lear's comment:

Improve this answer
0
2

One way to make it easier is by being able to drag the sites/communities under "More Stack Exchange Communities" into the "My Communities" list while editing:

Improve this answer
1

Hmm, +, dragging, keyboard... what about making this?

  1. Click on edit.
  2. Communities will be sorted by your activity. You simply click on them, and they are being added to YOUR COMMUNITIES list.
  3. Sort them how you want and click save.

Isn't it easier?

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .