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Not a full redesign, but there are quite a few UX issues that really need to be addressed. These 2 stand out most for me: - mobile issues: text too small, up/d

Not a full redesign, but there are quite a few UX issues that really need to be addressed. These 2 stand out most for me: - mobile issues: text too small, up/down vote not usable - post text almost unreadable, it should not be lighter than comment text

Ekaros 4y ago
Text size is perfect for reading, even on my small hi-res device. I do agree with the UI elements though. Post text is pretty bad, sometimes even on my PC...
- notreallyserio 4y ago
  That post text is the same color as a downvoted comment is truly baffling to me. What benefit could that possibly have?
ramraj07 4y ago
What phone are you using? It’s perfectly workable on my phone, and a breeze compared to the cancer that is crappy sites and apps like Reddit.
- bromuro 4y ago
  It’s so bad on mobile that there’s a market of HN clients. Myself I am writing this from an app I’ve bought on the App Store.
- yellowapple 4y ago
  The main issue I notice is that the up/down arrows and other UI elements are too tiny to easily/accurately tap with a touchscreen. Thankfully touchscreens are pretty good at guessing which HTML element my fat fingers are touching, but it still leaves me a bit paranoid about e.g. whether I upvoted or downvoted.
  - Thorrez 4y ago
    After you vote, look for whether the text next to the timestamp says "unvote" or "undown". That will tell you whether you upvoted or downvoted.
    - notreallyserio 4y ago
      In tiny, gray text, with words that look similar to those with imperfect eyesight. It could easily be improved without breaking the site's entire aesthetic, IMO.
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      I never noticed "unvote" was exclusively used for upvotes. I had been thinking there was no way to check. Thank you.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
getcrunk 4y ago
The first issue, I'd have to disagree. I think it's perfectly usable. Second issue, it doesn't bother me but fair point
jason-phillips 4y ago
> text too small I am acutely nearsighted so I can still read 2mm tall characters unaided and am well past the point when most humans require corrective lenses for reading. It's sort of a super power right about now. So it depends. I dislike large text on my phone. old.reddit.com works just fine for me as well.
tintedfireglass 4y ago
For mobile I use GLIDER for Hacker news. It a pretty good experience :)
busymom0 4y ago
On iOS, you can set the text size to be larger using the Aa button in safari. If you are looking for an app, I am the developer of HACK which is available on both iOS/MacOS/iPadOS and Android: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/hack-for-hacker-news-developer/id1464477788 https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/hack-for-hacker-news-developer... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranapps.hack https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranapps.h...
- codeofdusk 4y ago
  > If you are looking for an app, I am the developer of HACK A little off-topic, but I'm totally blind (use VoiceOver) and just tried the app on iOS. A few issues: * Several buttons are unlabelled, so I'm not sure what they do. * Navigating through posts isn't the most efficient (I need to swipe several times to move from post to post). * The relative level of comments within a thread isn't announced (i.e. replies to OP are at level 1, replies to those replies are level 2, etc). Are these indented visually? * Accessibility actions should be added to quickly vote, reply to comments, etc. Happy to provide additional feedback/model apps that do this well, but I'm not an iOS developer.
  - busymom0 4y ago
    Thanks for the feedback. It’s my fault and I apologize because I hadn’t taken accessibility into account while development. I will look into making the app accessible in updates.
orlp 4y ago
I miss two things: inline `typewriter font` and - bulleted/ordered - lists without making each entry its own paragraph.
layer8 4y ago
While I agree that the UX on mobile could be better, it might actually be beneficial to comment quality that HN encourages desktop use.
lgvld 4y ago
Probably not so useful for mobile, but have a look at Refined HN extension: https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news I discovered it a few days ago. It seems to include a "override CSS" box in the menu, allowing anyone to customize the look of HN.

Ekaros 4y ago

Text size is perfect for reading, even on my small hi-res device. I do agree with the UI elements though. Post text is pretty bad, sometimes even on my PC...

notreallyserio 4y ago
That post text is the same color as a downvoted comment is truly baffling to me. What benefit could that possibly have?

ramraj07 4y ago

What phone are you using? It’s perfectly workable on my phone, and a breeze compared to the cancer that is crappy sites and apps like Reddit.

bromuro 4y ago
It’s so bad on mobile that there’s a market of HN clients. Myself I am writing this from an app I’ve bought on the App Store.
yellowapple 4y ago
The main issue I notice is that the up/down arrows and other UI elements are too tiny to easily/accurately tap with a touchscreen. Thankfully touchscreens are pretty good at guessing which HTML element my fat fingers are touching, but it still leaves me a bit paranoid about e.g. whether I upvoted or downvoted.
- Thorrez 4y ago
  After you vote, look for whether the text next to the timestamp says "unvote" or "undown". That will tell you whether you upvoted or downvoted.
  - notreallyserio 4y ago
    In tiny, gray text, with words that look similar to those with imperfect eyesight. It could easily be improved without breaking the site's entire aesthetic, IMO.
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    I never noticed "unvote" was exclusively used for upvotes. I had been thinking there was no way to check. Thank you.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

getcrunk 4y ago

The first issue, I'd have to disagree. I think it's perfectly usable. Second issue, it doesn't bother me but fair point

jason-phillips 4y ago

> text too small I am acutely nearsighted so I can still read 2mm tall characters unaided and am well past the point when most humans require corrective lenses for reading. It's sort of a super power right about now. So it depends. I dislike large text on my phone. old.reddit.com works just fine for me as well.

tintedfireglass 4y ago

For mobile I use GLIDER for Hacker news. It a pretty good experience :)

busymom0 4y ago

On iOS, you can set the text size to be larger using the Aa button in safari. If you are looking for an app, I am the developer of HACK which is available on both iOS/MacOS/iPadOS and Android: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/hack-for-hacker-news-developer/id1464477788 https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/hack-for-hacker-news-developer... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranapps.hack https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pranapps.h...

codeofdusk 4y ago
> If you are looking for an app, I am the developer of HACK A little off-topic, but I'm totally blind (use VoiceOver) and just tried the app on iOS. A few issues: * Several buttons are unlabelled, so I'm not sure what they do. * Navigating through posts isn't the most efficient (I need to swipe several times to move from post to post). * The relative level of comments within a thread isn't announced (i.e. replies to OP are at level 1, replies to those replies are level 2, etc). Are these indented visually? * Accessibility actions should be added to quickly vote, reply to comments, etc. Happy to provide additional feedback/model apps that do this well, but I'm not an iOS developer.
- busymom0 4y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. It’s my fault and I apologize because I hadn’t taken accessibility into account while development. I will look into making the app accessible in updates.

orlp 4y ago

I miss two things: inline `typewriter font` and - bulleted/ordered - lists without making each entry its own paragraph.

layer8 4y ago

While I agree that the UX on mobile could be better, it might actually be beneficial to comment quality that HN encourages desktop use.

lgvld 4y ago

Probably not so useful for mobile, but have a look at Refined HN extension: https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news I discovered it a few days ago. It seems to include a "override CSS" box in the menu, allowing anyone to customize the look of HN.