Constructive critic Lang-8: usability problems
Mar 07th 2010 07:13
usabillity
lang-8
critic
Hi I need some help to correct this entry!
The first thing that I have to say is that the idea of Lang-8 is fantastic!, correct texts in your native languaje and get help to correct your entries in the languaje that you are learning is a good aproach to practice the English writing, but I would like to talk about some usability issues.
In my opinion Lang-8 interface should focus on a few actions: write entries and correct others. When you get into for the first time you see a lot of information, links, menus, text, people, etc. wow I needed a lot of time to find the basic options, where to write and where to find people to correct. I can no see any priority in your schema.
Second, you dont give useful information or you have to improve the visiblity of it: how I will follow my progress?, how will you award my good corrections?, if I correct more entries I will receive best and more corrections?. You have to give me an extra motivation to help users.
I would apreciate more tips on fly in my first actions.
Another confuse issue is the Friends system, I don't think this bi-directional relationship is useful here, I would like to have a Follow system as twitter, more superficial, easy to add people (i don't want to ask anyone to be my friend!) and it would add a new reason to help other users: get new followers, anyway if the objective of this Friend system is to bring my "e-real" friends, they willl probably speak my same languaje, should be a secundary action, but it appear as your first option menu.
Please focus: I cannot see people using the Notebook area, photo album or making an intensive use of Groups, I would love to have a clean interface with direct actions to get my main goals.
Finally I dont know the kind of entries that I should write, I mean, have i to write to communicate something to the community or i can send here any text that I want to correct?. My impressión is that Lang-8 is pushing me to have a Blog, but what probably student needs is a source for text corrections of any kind.
Anyway, I love the idea and i hope to stay here for a long time.
The first thing that I have to say is that the idea of Lang-8 is fantastic!, correct texts in your native languaje and get help to correct your entries in the languaje that you are learning is a good aproach to practice the English writing, but I would like to talk about some usability issues.
In my opinion Lang-8 interface should focus on a few actions: write entries and correct others. When you get into for the first time you see a lot of information, links, menus, text, people, etc. wow I needed a lot of time to find the basic options, where to write and where to find people to correct. I can no see any priority in your schema.
Second, you dont give useful information or you have to improve the visiblity of it: how I will follow my progress?, how will you award my good corrections?, if I correct more entries I will receive best and more corrections?. You have to give me an extra motivation to help users.
I would apreciate more tips on fly in my first actions.
Another confuse issue is the Friends system, I don't think this bi-directional relationship is useful here, I would like to have a Follow system as twitter, more superficial, easy to add people (i don't want to ask anyone to be my friend!) and it would add a new reason to help other users: get new followers, anyway if the objective of this Friend system is to bring my "e-real" friends, they willl probably speak my same languaje, should be a secundary action, but it appear as your first option menu.
Please focus: I cannot see people using the Notebook area, photo album or making an intensive use of Groups, I would love to have a clean interface with direct actions to get my main goals.
Finally I dont know the kind of entries that I should write, I mean, have i to write to communicate something to the community or i can send here any text that I want to correct?. My impressión is that Lang-8 is pushing me to have a Blog, but what probably student needs is a source for text corrections of any kind.
Anyway, I love the idea and i hope to stay here for a long time.
- 5
- 1
- 1
Journals Statistics
Latest entry
| Constructive critic Lang-8: usability problems (2) |
Latest comments
| Mar 08th luishg |
| Mar 08th Kratos |
Entries by Month
| 2010 |
|---|
| - March (1) |
The first thing that I have to say is that the idea of Lang-8 is fantastic!, Correct texts in your native languaje and getting help to correcting your entries in the language that you are learning is a good aproach to practice the English writing, but I would like to talk about some usability issues.
In my opinion Lang-8 interface should focus on a few actions: write entries and correct others. ["writing entries and correcting others." sounds better].
When you get into it for the first time you see a lot of information, links, menus, text, people, etc.
Wow, I needed a lot of time to find the basic options, where to write and where to find people to correct.
I can not see any priority in your schema. [A common expression in English is, "method to your madness.". However, "any organization to your approach." would at least be better.]
Second, you don't give useful information or you have to improve the visiblity of it: how I will I follow my progress?, How will you award my good corrections?, If I correct more entries, will I will receive better and more corrections?.
I would apreciate more tips on thefly in my first actions.["interactions" would be better than "actions" here.]
Another confusing issue is the Friends system, I don't think this bi-directional relationship is useful here, I would like to have a Follow system astwitter, more superficial, easy to add people (I don't want to ask anyone to be my friend!) and it would add a new reason to help other users: get new followers, anyway if the objective of this Friend system is to bring my "e-real" friends, they willl probably speak my same language, then it should be a secundary action, but it appear as your first menuoption menu.
Please focus: I can not see people using the Notebook area, photo album or making an intensive use of Groups. I would love to have a clean interface with direct actions access to get reach my main goals.
Finally, I dont know the kind of entries that I should write, I mean, do I have i to write to communicate something to the community or i can I send here write any text that I want to correct?.
My impressión is that Lang-8 is pushing me to have a Blog, but what probably student probably needs is a source for textcorrections of any kind.
Anyway, I love the idea and I hope to stay here for a long time.
I think the idea of 'friends' is for people with matching languages to be able to see when entries need to be corrected. I haven't learned about the notebook feature yet.
I already have several friends, including ones that don't speak my language or the ones I'm learning! I'm just trying to help others... I don't need any more incentive that that.
Good point about the Friend system.
I agree with you about the incentives, but from the project perspective you can help to this percent of users that look their numbers (more than help others) or who only want to get correctionms, to review more entries. At the end of the day it benefit to the end users.