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Community Wishlist Survey 2022/Mobile and apps/Categories in mobile app

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Categories in mobile app

  • Problem: Currently categories are only visible to readers when using the Wikipedia website. Mobile app users can't see the categories that articles have been placed in, or browse through the attached categories. When they are also visible in the app they could make for instance some Wikipedia lists abundant. Benefit from that is this would lower the amount of pages that have to be maintained with recent information.
  • Proposed solution: Display the categories that a page belongs to and allow readers to browse to those categories.
  • Who would benefit: Readers, community and Wikipedians using the Wikipedia mobile application.
  • More comments: Because of issues with Parsoid and/or the Mobile Content Service, readers may have to view category pages in the mobile web version, but still within the app. This is similar to what happens when viewing the history of the page, etc.
  • Phabricator tickets: task T73966, task T153980
  • Proposer: Melvinvk (talk) 01:20, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Discussion

Copied from duplicate proposal:

  • I think that this would be a helpful addition.Dunutubble (talk) 23:39, 10 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I fully support this. There are multiple times I've had to load a page in my mobile browser and switch to dekstop view to access the categories. Thryduulf (talk: meta · en.wp · wikidata) 01:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • While these can already be enabled if you're logged in, I find it to be more convenient to have them enabled by default if you're not logged in. I fully support this. -BRAINULATOR9 (TALK) 02:08, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    How do you enable them? I am logged in within the application, but on the bottom it shows read more and I have to switch to desktop view. I also don’t see an option in the settings of the app. Melvinvk (talk) 02:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    They are not even in the mobile version for the browser, let alone the app while I'm logged in. Where am I supposed to mark a box to see them? Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    Settings -> Advanced mode (mobile web). —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 12:24, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    Helemaal bedankt!   Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 13:11, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    But (niet alleen voor jou) why, for f* sake, are there separate settings for my only account, why isn't this anywhere in my normal settings, where all such stuff belongs by default? That are my settings, everything that's not there is in an invalid place. Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 16:17, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Categories belong there, at least for logged in users they should be available in all apps, be it classical browser, .m.-browser or app. Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Fully support this. I've never understood why they're not there by default. Pichpich (talk) 20:04, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Noting that the linked Phab tasks are only about the Android app. No tasks appear to have been created for the iOS app, however I assume it faces the same problem. That is, displaying the categories that a page belongs to is not difficult, but category pages don't themselves render properly in the app due to issues with Parsoid and Mobile Content Service (phab:T153980). So I think this proposal is OK to move forward, so long as voters know you'll be seeing the mobile web rendering of category pages. I have tweaked the proposal wording to make this more clear, which I hope is okay. I have just one concern: @Melvinvk: What do you mean when you say When they are also visible in the app they could make for instance some Wikipedia lists abundant. Benefit from that is this would lower the amount of pages that have to be maintained with recent information.? Thanks, MusikAnimal (WMF) (talk) 22:17, 12 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    It's about the app, regardless wich flavour of OS it run on. There is only the app running on different mobile devices, those subtleties should have no relevance for the fixing of bugs. Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 05:11, 13 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    "Those subtleties" matter when they start from entirely different programming languages between the three ways someone could see something on mobile (i.e. web, Android, and iOS). Izno (talk) 06:19, 18 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    Ain't iOS and Android just some different flavours of Linux? So just KISS, and don't customize too much. Grüße vom Sänger ♫(Reden) 06:53, 18 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    No. Izno (talk) 18:48, 18 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hey everyone, thanks for this rich discussion. One of the Android engineers built a prototype for displaying categories. Our designer will have a look at it once he can get through some of our talk page feature work. I expect us to have something out by June 2022 at the absolute latest. I can't speak for iOS but will definitely coordinate with them so it is easy for them to bring in the feature when the team has capacity. All that to say this is on the Android's team radar (and on our phabricator board). Please keep sharing your ideas of how you'd like categories to show up, and if you feel so inclined collaborate with us on Phab task T73966. Thanks again! JTanner (WMF) (talk) 15:46, 13 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think categories should be made by the app developers, and waiting approval by Google and Apple. At this time it could mean for a bad way of viewing categories, but browsing categories, I think it's still possible. Thingofme (talk) 09:48, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Voting

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