Users discuss the overwhelming number of options in Discourse’s Preferences, particularly how key features like Saved Searches, AI, and ActivityPub are hidden behind a “>” icon, making them hard to discover. RGJ suggests splitting options into two lines—one for defaults, one for plugins—to improve visibility, even with “smallest” font settings. IrisBetty proposes consolidating notification, category, and email settings to reduce user confusion, noting that new users struggle to locate and understand these scattered preferences. Etiainen supports minimizing cognitive load. Jagster questions whether touch interfaces handle horizontal scrolling better than mouse-based ones, but RGJ clarifies the core issue is discoverability, not input method. IrisBetty adds that even if horizontal scrolling works on touch, remembering which menus to click or scroll through is burdensome for occasional users. Jagster argues that categorizing settings (e.g., ActivityPub under its own section) is more intuitive than a single list, and questions whether the problem is total settings count. IrisBetty admits unfamiliarity with ActivityPub and stresses that expecting new users to navigate complex notification, tracking, and email settings is unreasonable; suggests admins should be able to hide non-essential options. Jagster notes ActivityPub is a necessary setting, but RGJ reiterates the main fix is making hidden options visibly accessible, ideally via a two-line layout.
Very valuable options like Saved Searches, AI and Activitypub are only visible when pressing the > icon, making them hard to discover, especially if you don’t know they’re there.
Even with my font preferences set to “smallest” it doesn’t show all of them.
Maybe this could be broken up in two lines, one with the default options and one for the plugins?
Or could all notification and category preferences, + email settings be consolidated. It is very hard for a new users to realise that these things are all in different places.
I can agree that there are too many options. It might be worth considering minimizing cognitive load.
Is this one of those situations where touch screens are better than mouse-world and shortcuts? Because horizontally scrolling is nothing to worth of mention when swiping.
I considered that, but I think this is mostly about the fact that the options aren’t immediately visible.
horizontal scrolling works well on touch screen but not when you need to remember whether to hit this menu or that menu, or click twice (e.g. to get email in preferences) and scroll down. There are just too many variations for an occasional user to learn.
How would that be easier if there would be like just one or three setting categories? It is way more easier to find ActivityPub related ones under ActivityPub than search it from one list?
Do you think site settings are equally hard? There is much more categories that this has.
Or is the issue now total amounts of settings? I don’t know how that could be avoided.
I don’t know what ActivityPub is.
I think that it is a lot to expect occasional users who are knew to discourse to know to:
But I agree about the amount of settings. One solution would be to allow administrators to reduce the amount of settings that are available to users. I’m not sure all are needed in all forums. This is a truly remarkable software with all of the options to customise but allowing administrators to reduce options for users e.g. turn off navigation choice or others might really help.
It is one set of settings that is needed, and must be there. Just an example, though.
I think we’re deviating from my point that those settings are simply not visible, except when you know that they’re there, and you scroll horizontally.
This can easily be solved by putting them on two lines.
