Last modified: 2007-08-17 19:30:12 UTC
The "(rev)" link on an image's history to revert it is extremely counterintuitive and easily done by accident, for three reasons: 1. It is in the same place as the "(diff)" link on a regular article's history page. 2. "rev" may suggest an abbrevation for "revision," as in "view this revision." 3. It is a link, not a form, and takes immediate action. Links that take immediate action are unexpected and surprise the user. The linked URL is an image that was reverted on 28 Apr 2004 for no apparent reason, likely by mistake. More examples can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Missionary_Sex_Position-small.png, where several people have made this mistake, most recently myself. I understand that it may be useful to revert files quickly if they have been vandalized, and that the abbreviation is defined several lines up. Nevertheless, the "(rev)" link should offer an "Are you sure?" page with a button, to prevent such errors. (I didn't try "(del)", but I hope it offers confirmation; if not, it should as well.) I hope this is the right place for such a report... if not, feel free to move/delete.
No, the "(del)" link also takes effect immediately. One should be able to specify a reason for deleting an old revision, and a reason for reverting an image. The form to collect those reasons would be the perfect place to explain in detail what you're about to do, and allow you to back out.
The default link text is now "revert", and it's much clearer what the link does. There's also an intermediate confirmation page which allows the user to give a reason.
