# Loading slider should show actual progress

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [April 25, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428 "2024-04-25T14:16:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![darkpixlz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/darkpixlz/32/549896_2.png) [@darkpixlz](https://meta.discourse.org/u/darkpixlz)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428/1 "2024-04-25T14:16:12Z")

</div>

If I’m not even on the internet, is it really being loaded?

 ![IMG_2504](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/9/1/c9120d8c7bfe26cbc794ed485f2baf728d44c437.jpeg)

Especially on a really slow connection (and limiting it to edge in devtools) this effect is painfully visible where it’s 90% filled but the page isn’t loaded. This is mostly poor design, should it not show actual progress to be of some use and not just a new version of the spinner?

 ![IMG_2503](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/2/c/f/2cfdf668f4fd3e86dad045de83ba49efeaf7eaa0.jpeg)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Falco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/falco/32/179432_2.png) [@Falco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Falco)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428/2 "2024-04-25T14:35:09Z")

</div>

> [@darkpixlz](#):
>
> should it not show actual progress to be of some use and not just a new version of the spinner?

That was never the goal, and showing actual progress of a dynamic resource of unknown size over a variable throughput medium is not a trivial feat.

Currently, it parametrizes the animation based on the average of the last few transitions and will stop at 90% when this specific transition takes longer than the average.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![piffy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/piffy/32/254198_2.png) [@piffy](https://meta.discourse.org/u/piffy)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428/3 "2024-04-25T18:40:28Z")

</div>

Loading bars are useful primarily as a psychological soothing tool for the user more than an indicator of the precise amount of progress something has completed

A good video on the topic

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/6/0/e/60ee8ddf98ee89db867616abe6ef9d1dc51fbcc3.jpeg "Why Progress Bars Don't Move Smoothly ▓▓▓░░░░░░") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZnLZFRylbs)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Heliosurge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/heliosurge/32/571810_2.png) [@Heliosurge](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Heliosurge)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/loading-slider-should-show-actual-progress/305428/4 "2024-04-25T23:28:52Z")

</div>

> [@Falco](#):
>
> That was never the goal, and showing actual progress of a dynamic resource of unknown size over a variable throughput medium is not a trivial feat.

Indeed it took forever for MS estimates to be close to accurate.