this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023

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Assuming boost stays as some sort of a super-upvote/share combo alongside regular up/downvote buttons, here's a UI idea on how to merge it into one unified voting system. App animation + web block moc (media.kbin.social)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by fearout@kbin.social to c/kbinMeta@kbin.social

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I heard that votes have been changed to behave closer to how people would expect, and boost is staying here as well. So I had an idea how to bring it all together in the interface.

Sidenote: you don't have to click the links here, the images are also posted inline in the comments below.

An app (either Artemis or an official one) might use a swipe gesture to visually hint at the relation between upvoting and boosting, as shown in the attached animation. Here's a static app mockup with both swipe levels displayed. I'd also imagine that there should be a setting that auto-upvotes posts when boosting.

And on the web, it's probably a good idea to consolidate all the voting buttons into a single block by adding an additional button at the top.

Edit: I’m disappointed in you guys. How come no one noticed the memes? :)

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[–] VerifiablyMrWonka@kbin.social 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I like the overal effect but it's hiding the true nature of boosting.

Boosting shares a piece of content with your followers. Favouriting does not. Kbin does not yet contain a follower feed, but it is planned. This is what that looks like on Mastodon:

[–] laurens@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yeah, its good to mention that boosts is also really relevant for the microblogging side. I actually found out about this post because i follow ernest on calckey, and he boosted it. Thats for me an important usecase of boosting kbin stuff. This looks really pretty, but it does put boosting too much in the category of 'superlike' for me.

[–] gunadai@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Agreed - I think it needs to be distinct, but could still be an arrow. Maybe an arrow that curves to the right, like an email "forward" button? That's kind of how I think of a boost - a forward to everyone who follows me.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I know, but you probably won't be able to explain it to the whole user base, in my opinion. Making it somewhat visual might add to the general understanding. And probably increase boosting without extra incentives.

[–] curiosityLynx@kglitch.social 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

imo the boost symbol should be replaced by something like the retweet symbol or the symbol tumblr uses for their reblogging. That would make it clearer what it does. I'd also rename "boost" to something like "echo".

[–] fearout@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That in turn kinda hides the part where it actually boosts the post. Idk, but I feel like it's a separate entity, not simply a retweet.

[–] curiosityLynx@kglitch.social 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What about "spread"? Also, the "upvote" side effect of boosting is just that: a secondary side effect.

[–] VerifiablyMrWonka@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Secondary? The boosting of a post is secondary to the... boosting?

I'd be down with the use of a reblog/retweet icon. It's ubiquitous enough that a majority of people would understand it.

EDIT. Parent was edited. I agree the upvote is the "side effect".

[–] fearout@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

Probably some frankenicon merging retweet with a flying upvote might work.

[–] static@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, the double upvote is secundary to the retweet.

The retweet is understood by the fediverse, for example mastodon. The double upvote only happens in kbin

[–] VerifiablyMrWonka@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

There was a sneaky edit. I believe "upvote" was added.

[–] static@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Maybe even remove the scoring from boost, It just makes things so complicated that a retweet has a side-effect

[–] Ragnell@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I don't know, it seems fairly simple. Boost posts to Mastodon.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Web block mockup with both clicked and unclicked buttons.

[–] fiat_lux@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's very pretty, those are some nice colour choices, and the transitions are great.

The main content shrinking horizontally may cause some layout and overflow issues. Especially for smaller screen devices, users who rely on browser zoom, and as more functionality is added. But there's pretty some spacing to still work with, it might be flexible enough.

The mega-like icon could also stand to be more visually distinct from the regular like. The difference gets a bit lost in small sizes. Maybe a megaphone or broadcast/share icon to help communicate the retweet-like functionality? I'm not sure how activitypub and boost relate (is it a follow action?), but that should probably guide the icon choice there.

I also wonder, if they are 2 distinct actions, does the mobile version prevent people from boosting but not also liking a post?

The animation should be limited to maximum 5 seconds too for people with ADHD and other issues.

They're super nice mock-ups! It's great there are designers like you on board with the FOSS train.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks. The content isn't shrinking horizontally, the whole block slides to the right. It's been an iOS interface element for years now and is used in native apps as well. As for the icon distinction, it really looks different on my phone. As for the smaller web icons, yeah, boost can be reworked into something more different, like a rocket or something. And when adding animations like this to an app, it's common practice to add a setting to turn them off. So the app would just have static icons with no movement in that case.

And nothing prevents you from both upvoting and boosting. I'd say its even encouraged :)

[–] fiat_lux@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Ah, it does move, my mistake. Should the image link then be removed from screen-reader output when it is no longer on the screen? Would I have to unboost a post to be able to expand the image preview again, and then reboost?

A setting to turn off animations would be lovely, I hope someone is able to build that in if they implement this.

The icon distinction for the third image with the three in a column is the one I think isn't quite distinct. I see a different version is diagonal though, which helps a lot. If i understand correctly. I am viewing from a small screen with sight problems though.

And I wasn't clear with my both like / boost question, I apologise. Is it still possible for me to boost a post without also liking it?

Edit: it would be good to check if Apple has patented this design interaction too, they love to patent everything and then sue.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Have you seen how it works on iPhones? You release the block at one of the positions, it upvotes/boosts the post and returns to normal. It’s not patented, it’s part of system interactions and is included in Apple’s human interface guidelines. Apollo used a similar thing, for example, but it’s used everywhere from notes to mail.

Boosting and upvoting are separate actions, and as I suggested in the post it’s probably a good idea to give users a setting to upvote on boost or simply boost the post. So it would be down to user preference, nothing forced. So if you were to turn/leave this option off, the boost action would only boost the post.

[–] Peruvian_Skies@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

I like/enjoy/upvote/retweet/bost/favorite/approve/share/repost/resonate this.

[–] FixedFun@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

I like the space theme, cockatoos and space sound like the best combination

[–] Mozami@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Very cool concept

[–] ansik@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Love the animation so much, I'd be tempted to boost everything just to see it again. Completely nitpicking here but maybe a version with the boost-arrow centered might look even more clean? I get the idea of having the arrow "evolve" but maybe can save that effect by having it "evolve" and slide to the right at the same time

[–] fearout@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Idk, both ways are used in iOS apps, but centering is usually done when opening a slider with several actions. Centering just one icon adds unnecessary movement in my opinion. The way I've done it makes your eye easily lock on an icon, since it doesn't move about once revealed. Remember, you're sliding this with your finger, so it's not going to be fixed in one or two places, but it'll move to recenter itself with every tiny movement.

[–] ansik@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

You're completely right, it's multi-action sliders that I'm thinking off!
Thanks for going over your reasoning, seems well thought out and I can see my self "chasing" the boost arrow with my finger if done in the way I've described so point taken :)

[–] DarkThoughts@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not a fan. This would make swiping gestures for more useful functions, like going back, impossible.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nope, those functions coexist. Have you used Apollo? Or any native apple app, for that matter. For example, Mail and Notes use the same gesture combination. The difference is you swipe from outside the edge to go back, and start somewhere on the screen to open a swipe drawer. It’s pretty intuitive to use and is included in Apple guidelines.

So no functionality would be lost.

[–] DarkThoughts@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

No, of course I haven't used any Apollo app because of course I don't use Apple products. That gesture exists in Android too though, system wide, but it's not really an alternative to fluid app gestures. I tried wefwef for example, which is close to what you're suggesting, and I just end up accidentally voting & boosting while scrolling.

[–] fearout@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Mobile app block mockup

[–] fearout@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Paging @ernest, I'd love to hear your opinion on this. I know it’s not really a super-upvote and has a separate function, but bringing it all together in a fun way might help people get the relation without extra explanations. So just a visual change.

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