[Strategic] Action: Test front page with moved search form

[Dermot McNally]

On 26 May 2011 23:10, Steve Coast <steve at asklater.com> wrote:
> Awesome Dermot, well done on the JFDI. Thoughts:
>
> * get rid of the greeeeeeeeeen :-)

For sure - I subverted an existing Irish community test server for
this. The green is horrid, but ensures you don't try doing real edits
in good faith.

> * remove the 'examples' text below the box. In the box put "Walderslade,
> England" in grey. That gets the point across. Then when they click the box,
> the text disappears

Yeah, I did think about the grey text option for the "most typical"
search format. Then my suggested popup could handle the more esoteric
options.

> * remove the word "search"
> * and, instead of "go" make the button say "search"

Agree 100%

> * move the 'where am I' to a crosshairs icon between the letf/right/up/down
> buttons and the zoom bar

Actually I dislike this, not because it isn't better than what's there
(it might have the edge), but because it suffers from the same problem
I mention. People have become used to their online maps being able to
move to where they are. If we're to bring this change or one like it
to a conclusion what I'd actually like to do is:

* Implement a real location detector and let users activate it more or
less as you've described. That'll move the map to the current location
at what seems like a sane zoom level.
* Find an entirely different way to have users trigger the existing
functionality of "what is a good name for this bit of the map I can
see now?". Ideally that name would go into the page title and into a
caption for the map itself and either update automatically (after we
all have our ponies) or have a refresh button. Nice thing about doing
it this way is that you connect the action button with a feature on
the screen whose purpose the user already knows.

My next move on this, which might be delayed while I'm out of the
country, will probably be:

* Leave the form overlapping the map as it is now

* _Maybe_ shift it left a bit to uncover the layer switcher in case we
actually want to deploy it in that location

* Do strip down the contents of the search form to the bare min as
described, since that's equally useful where it is now or up with the
login links.

> Then, enjoy the pint I buy you for doing this :-)

* Licks lips *

Dermot

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