Sunday, August 17, 2014

#MediaWiki - #MediaViewer rehashed

Some things are plain stupid, sometimes I am and sometimes someone else is. I filed a bug about my experience of the MediaViewer. For me it is a show stopper; it prevents me from using it easily.

The problem is that Chrome shows a really awful URL for an image with funny characters in its title. When I look at it using the MediaViewer it is bad but it looks fine when I look at it from the Commons page.
  • File:%C3%89cole_normale_sup%C3%A9rieure_de_Paris,_26_January_2013.jpg
  • File:École normale supérieure de Paris, 26 January 2013.jpg
According to the Bugzilla triage I must be stupid because it works; it complies with specifications and, indeed technically it works. It just stopped working for me.

Several reactions are possible. My choice was to shrug, mutter "it is the user experience stupid" and I got on with my life. Others find it a precursor to the invasion of an evil overlord who does not understand the world and prepare for war.

By filing a bug, by posting this blog I have rid myself of my frustrations. I know several developers; I met many of them at Wikimania and I know they are really dedicated and mean well. I also know that such things pass. I am sure someone will see the light or Google will fix Chrome (if that is where the bug lives). In the end I do not look at images that often as a result.
Thanks,
       GerardM

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