[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #41191: Create browse happy type notice for PHP versions

[WordPress Trac]

#41191: Create browse happy type notice for PHP versions
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 Reporter:  joostdevalk                          |       Owner:  flixos90
     Type:  enhancement                          |      Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal                               |   Milestone:  4.9.6
Component:  General                              |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                               |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch ui-feedback needs-testing  |     Focuses:
                                                 |  accessibility
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Comment (by johnjamesjacoby):

 I do not prefer the most recent iterations of this feature.

 The best one, IMO, was this one from 4 weeks ago:

 https://core.trac.wordpress.org/attachment/ticket/41191/41191.rewording.2.png

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 Here are the problems I see with the current iteration. Sorry... here
 goes:

 * The first sentence isn't actually true. Insecure software is not slow;
 secure software is not fast. Upgrading is not quick for most people. This
 is not an easy app update. This is a piece of system software on a server
 that most users do not have control over.
 * PHP isn't the programming language we use to build or maintain
 WordPress; that's like saying English is the language we use to build and
 maintain books. "PHP is one of several programming languages WordPress
 uses to help 33% of the web share their thoughts online" or something like
 it, sounds uplifting without being inaccurate.
 * Questions are bad when coupled with red warnings. "''What is PHP?''" and
 "''How can I update?''" sound like WordPress inserting a scary narrative
 into a user's mind. This is a time for confidence building, not for a
 quiz.
 * The current verbiage reads, to me, like a spammy virus pop-up. I would
 think my WordPress had a virus, if I didn't know better.
 * "Click the button below" is not good UX. Here's one link on the web
 explaining why, amongst the million: http://uxmovement.com/content/why-
 your-links-should-never-say-click-here/
 * The left aligned ¾ width button looks misplaced. It has no home. Is that
 intentional?
 * The button links to a page with ''1924'' words, and no clear steps to
 update PHP. We've built urgency with no immediate solution. We are guiding
 these users down a dead-end alleyway.
 * The closing statement is not true. There is(was) a high likelihood of
 pain, which is why most folks are still running older versions. Not pain
 from WordPress itself, but plugins and other PHP-based applications
 running on the same server will bring breakage, and we are not preparing
 them for that here.
 * That red bubble has to go. WordPress uses different red bubbles to
 communicate things like comments needing moderation, and plugins & themes
 needing updates. Notification bubbles are attached to trivial tasks that
 are easily completed. This red bubble isn't actually a bubble, and breaks
 the convention of meta-box titles only being words. Plugin authors will
 follow suit, resulting in abuse, losing its effectiveness.
 * Using phases like "we use to build WordPress" and "the instructions we
 provide" are poor attempts to convey false trust, and break the 4th wall
 pretty hard. Who are "we" here? Users care about who "we" are as much as
 they care who their plumber is, especially when there's a crisis. And
 anyone that ''does'' know WordPress is open-source software developed by
 whomever shows up, knows this isn't a confidence builder; it's a warning.

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 Today, in Slack, folks mentioned this being "good enough" to ship, but (to
 me, it seems like) that's based on wanting to avoid more bike-shedding,
 and not based on the viability of (or actually liking) the current
 results. Not sure who to ping for a review/consult. I know @flixos90 is
 owning the ticket here, but the comments make it look like @pento and
 @karmatosed directed some changes from Automattic folks. Who's in charge
 of saying when this is done?

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/41191#comment:101>
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