Last modified: 2014-07-27 20:03:33 UTC
The "Restore all default settings" option in Special:Preferences needs a confirmation dialog of some type. It's poor form to have a reset button without having a message like: "Did you really mean to click this? It will reset all your preferences to the default (except your e-mail address)."
Thanks for the confirmation button, however there is much more to be desired! The user still wonders, especially after reading the thread http://article.gmane.org/gmane.science.linguistics.wikipedia.technical/48893 "Well which of my settings are not the default?" "Can I be allowed to examine a list and pick and choose which ones I want to restore the defaults of?" And, no one in their right mind would click on a link labeled "Restore all default settings", as such links would likely blow away years of customization, with no "receipt" as to what it blew away. Only new users who think they have messed up their account would click on such a button/link. That there is a second window "You can use this page to reset your preferences to the site defaults. This cannot be undone." is a nice comfort to those who accidentally clicked the wrong button, but does not help one bit for "first tell me just what non-defaults of mine are we talking about, OK?" And the link should then be renamed Examine/restore all default settings. Or "compare mine and default settings" etc. etc. Something less threatening than the current 'click of death' wording.
(In reply to comment #1) > Thanks for the confirmation button, however there is much more to be desired! Should this be filed as another bug? Anyway the initial bug is fixed now.
> Should this be filed as another bug? Anyway the initial bug is fixed now. Not so fast: It seems today's "Restore all default settings" link would only act upon the current #prefsection-3, #prefsection-4 etc. the user is viewing, when in reality "when [the button] says all, it means ALL", not just the ones in view, despite the users' guesses otherwise [gotcha], unless he turns off your stylesheet. The second "confirm" page doesn't mention the word "all" anymore too. However I do thank you for not using a javascript "confirm" button, as e.g., I don't use javascript. Anyways, back on the track of enhancing this command: another option is when the user is viewing his preferences in everyday use, have the non-defaults be marked. I mean you do mark which skin is the default, so why aren't the others so marked? And/or have stars appear next to the ones he has chosen that are not defaults...
This has been bugging me. For years. I put all the information I can think of, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help_talk:Preferences#List_ALL_the_special:preferences_defaults From Why we need it, to suggestions on How we might visually implement it. Technically, I have no idea. I'm also going to put the importance up to "normal" from "low", because I think it warrants it; apologies if this is frowned-upon (different bugzillas have different etiquette standards, etc).
