User:NavyaB.10/GSoC Edit Request Wizard Microtask 1

EDIT REQUEST Process of making edit request:

In simple words, some pages are protected or semi-protected from getting edited directly. In them, we see the "View Source " tab instead of the "Edit Source" or "Edit" tab. We cannot edit these pages directly, so we indirectly make edits by submitting an edit request to the editor of that page. To finally submit an edit request, we just click on the "View Souce " tab and then click on the "Submit an Edit Request" link. The page gets opened where the user can write in the textbox provided to them to make a request.

Hardest /Confused Part:

Being a newbie to editing in Wikipedia, terms like "Edit", "Edit Source", and "View Souce" were slightly confusing as they all led to making edits to the webpage. Also, the process is a little time-consuming.

Improvisation:

The process of making an edit request is a little long and a bit confusing, especially for beginners. Instead of the tab "View Souce", there should be the tab of "Edit Request". This will make it easier for beginners to go to the tab, and make a request (just like Edit or Edit Source tab). After clicking on this tab, there should be a pop-up displaying content about "This page is currently semi-protected so that only established, registered-users can edit it" with buttons for viewing and copying source or directly going onto the edit-request form.

Also, while making an edit request, instead of writing all rules together in the beginning and making a single textbox for everything, we should have different boxes for each input i.e different for source, URL, fact, etc. In each of the text boxes,  we should have a clickable icon (like a small question mark icon) on the right side of the box,  which when clicked by the user can guide them with the process and rules in a pop-up message like fashion for that particular box only.

Moreover, when the user tries to write something wrong or is not following the rules for making an edit, it should display an error in that particular section on the spot. This process and interface would be quite interesting for new users and would also help beginners to learn and make good edits without reading rules.

Overall Experience:

My overall experience was good. Finding the protected page with the "view source" tab was pretty straightforward with the list provided for "Wikipedia_semi-protected_pages " in the phabricator. The current process of making an edit request is a bit long and can be confusing for beginners. But it can be made easy by making a little improvisation in it.