11 ms·

Show HN: Revert the Twitter UI changes

38 points by kamranahmed_se 9y ago

anotheryou 9y ago
why not using stylish (pure CSS, but the few icons you can blob in)?
- nmbr213 9y ago
  OP uses JavaScript to remove 'edge-design' class (which contains all changes) from the body.
  - anotheryou 9y ago
    userscript than :)
_Microft 9y ago
Is that actually advisable? The same attitude made people stick with Windows XP or Firefox 3.5, don't you think?
- grimgrin 9y ago
  It's in the same spirit as: https://greasyfork.org https://greasyfork.org https://openuserjs.org https://openuserjs.org ^ Both can be used with Greasemonkey (Firefox) or Tampermonkey (Chrome) https://userstyles.org https://userstyles.org (used with Stylish)
- jamescostian 9y ago
  While I'm not a fan of the project, I do think that comparison isn't fair. XP and outdated browsers give you a much higher chance of malware, because MS isn't really putting out XP security patches and browsers release security patches in newer versions, hoping everyone will upgrade to them. Meanwhile, this project is essentially 16 lines of JS. Even the README takes up more space. Reading through the lines of JS, I don't see how they will make you vulnerable at all.
Sirikon 9y ago
But why. Why that hate for every new UI nowadays.
- zichy 9y ago
  For example, there is a reason[1] why round avatars are a bad idea. Although I must say that twitter.com seems to have improved in terms of keyboard navigation and the visible keyboard focus. [1]: https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/875389431372533760 https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/875389431372533760
  - Sirikon 9y ago
    Avatars thought to be in a squared container looking bad in a round container... it's logical.
  - rjeli 9y ago
    Another important reason circle avatars are bad: https://twitter.com/chordbug/status/875348114160459776 https://twitter.com/chordbug/status/875348114160459776
- Karunamon 9y ago
  Perhaps if the new UI's actually improved presentation of information rather than being an exercise in aesthetic wankery that makes the site less usable?
  - Sirikon 9y ago
    I can see some improvements on font and icon rendering, though.
  - accountyaccount 9y ago
    I know someone on the design team and they actually did user testing against the changes, and it's a mix of usability improvements and aesthetics. You can't really say something is less usable without some evidence.
egwynn 9y ago
obligatory https://xkcd.com/1770/ https://xkcd.com/1770/
- Sirikon 9y ago
  Why isn't this higher.
satsuma 9y ago
Meh, Twitter's new UI isn't bad enough for me to worry about reverting it locally. If they pulled a YouTube that'd make sense, and even there I got used to it.
Slackwise 9y ago
Skip Twitter.com and start using https://tweetdeck.twitter.com https://tweetdeck.twitter.com instead.
- tomschlick 9y ago
  That has the same redesign.
intoverflow2 9y ago
It's honestly pretty much the same UI anyway. Totally just feels like a CSS hack on the web side.
strict9 9y ago
Yes, people will complain every time a UI is significantly changed. But there's something else too. Perception is that significant product development resources were devoted to adding rounded corners. But issues often associated with twitter seem to get worse and little product development resources. A few include: harrassment, racism, armies of bots for brigading, and the increasing use of the platform as an instrument by a foreign power to exert influence on the American electorate. Maybe they are trying and not communicating it well. But a UI refresh is clear indication of spent product development, and those issues seem to be getting worse.
- AlwaysBCoding 9y ago
  Curiously you don't mention censorship of conservative accounts, shadow banning, and hashtag manipulation as major problems of the platform.
  - strict9 9y ago
    Sounds like we both agree there are important policy/usability problems that are being ignored or backlogged while effort is spent on a new UI.
bchociej 9y ago
I'll be honest: I didn't notice anything had changed until I read tweets complaining about it. The changes are minuscule.
spike021 9y ago
Can I just get a normal, chronological feed back again? None of this "We thought you'd find this interesting" crap? I miss out on so many tweets I would actually find interesting because of this. Sorry Twitter, but no, you're not capable of figuring out what I enjoy reading.
- ascagnel_ 9y ago
  Look for a third-party Twitter app, or at TweetDeck. The official first-party UI seems to have permanently moved away from that.
unclesaamm 9y ago
Surprised nobody has mentioned turning the heart back into a star.

anotheryou 9y ago

why not using stylish (pure CSS, but the few icons you can blob in)?

nmbr213 9y ago
OP uses JavaScript to remove 'edge-design' class (which contains all changes) from the body.
- anotheryou 9y ago
  userscript than :)

_Microft 9y ago

Is that actually advisable? The same attitude made people stick with Windows XP or Firefox 3.5, don't you think?

grimgrin 9y ago
It's in the same spirit as: https://greasyfork.org https://greasyfork.org https://openuserjs.org https://openuserjs.org ^ Both can be used with Greasemonkey (Firefox) or Tampermonkey (Chrome) https://userstyles.org https://userstyles.org (used with Stylish)
jamescostian 9y ago
While I'm not a fan of the project, I do think that comparison isn't fair. XP and outdated browsers give you a much higher chance of malware, because MS isn't really putting out XP security patches and browsers release security patches in newer versions, hoping everyone will upgrade to them. Meanwhile, this project is essentially 16 lines of JS. Even the README takes up more space. Reading through the lines of JS, I don't see how they will make you vulnerable at all.

Sirikon 9y ago

But why. Why that hate for every new UI nowadays.

zichy 9y ago
For example, there is a reason[1] why round avatars are a bad idea. Although I must say that twitter.com seems to have improved in terms of keyboard navigation and the visible keyboard focus. [1]: https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/875389431372533760 https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/875389431372533760
- Sirikon 9y ago
  Avatars thought to be in a squared container looking bad in a round container... it's logical.
- rjeli 9y ago
  Another important reason circle avatars are bad: https://twitter.com/chordbug/status/875348114160459776 https://twitter.com/chordbug/status/875348114160459776
Karunamon 9y ago
Perhaps if the new UI's actually improved presentation of information rather than being an exercise in aesthetic wankery that makes the site less usable?
- Sirikon 9y ago
  I can see some improvements on font and icon rendering, though.
- accountyaccount 9y ago
  I know someone on the design team and they actually did user testing against the changes, and it's a mix of usability improvements and aesthetics. You can't really say something is less usable without some evidence.

egwynn 9y ago

obligatory https://xkcd.com/1770/ https://xkcd.com/1770/

Sirikon 9y ago
Why isn't this higher.

satsuma 9y ago

Meh, Twitter's new UI isn't bad enough for me to worry about reverting it locally. If they pulled a YouTube that'd make sense, and even there I got used to it.

Slackwise 9y ago

Skip Twitter.com and start using https://tweetdeck.twitter.com https://tweetdeck.twitter.com instead.

tomschlick 9y ago
That has the same redesign.

intoverflow2 9y ago

It's honestly pretty much the same UI anyway. Totally just feels like a CSS hack on the web side.

strict9 9y ago

Yes, people will complain every time a UI is significantly changed. But there's something else too. Perception is that significant product development resources were devoted to adding rounded corners. But issues often associated with twitter seem to get worse and little product development resources. A few include: harrassment, racism, armies of bots for brigading, and the increasing use of the platform as an instrument by a foreign power to exert influence on the American electorate. Maybe they are trying and not communicating it well. But a UI refresh is clear indication of spent product development, and those issues seem to be getting worse.

AlwaysBCoding 9y ago
Curiously you don't mention censorship of conservative accounts, shadow banning, and hashtag manipulation as major problems of the platform.
- strict9 9y ago
  Sounds like we both agree there are important policy/usability problems that are being ignored or backlogged while effort is spent on a new UI.

bchociej 9y ago

I'll be honest: I didn't notice anything had changed until I read tweets complaining about it. The changes are minuscule.

spike021 9y ago

Can I just get a normal, chronological feed back again? None of this "We thought you'd find this interesting" crap? I miss out on so many tweets I would actually find interesting because of this. Sorry Twitter, but no, you're not capable of figuring out what I enjoy reading.

ascagnel_ 9y ago
Look for a third-party Twitter app, or at TweetDeck. The official first-party UI seems to have permanently moved away from that.

unclesaamm 9y ago

Surprised nobody has mentioned turning the heart back into a star.