@Huji, taking into account your approach "as closer as possible to Special:Watchlist", what do you think?

Well, I thought about it a little. I think we can move these parts to before the timestamp: Stop watching icon (x), Mark as seen icon (I can use an open book Unicode character that I have for years in my local Watchlist Manager for that matter, see on screenshot), standard watchlist letter (bot/minor/new), remove the bullets, and change the rest inside links to the watchlist format (5 changes|history). What do you think, @Prototyperspective, Huji?

Great to see you're looking into this issue! It's one of the two main reasons why I find the GW unusable (and probably quite a few other editors too but hard to tell), the other being T298920: Hide the list of recent editors next to article titles and add a config to display it (maybe you could also take a look there?).

Having the stop watching button at the front and things in columns would be some progress – however this was meant mainly about the button to see the xy unseen changes. I go through the items on the Watchlist from top downward one by one and use exactly two things with few exceptions:
the article title and the button to open the diff to see all unseen changes (here "2 changes", "7 changes", and "diff").
The only real need here is to have that button in front instead of at always varying locations because then going through the Watchlist – which for most active editors contains quite a few items – is very tedious and cognitively exhausting as well as more time-intensive. I think users only occasionally remove a set of many items from the Watchlist by quickly clicking the X next to items one by one, but opening the diffs for many pages is like one of the most common ways the Watchlist is used (usually just sometimes some pages are skipped based on mainly edit summary and/or page title and all other diffs opened and even if not checking the Watchlist usually at least involves opening up many diffs).

That button could for example go on the right next to the X button to remove the article from the Watchlist. There could also be a setting like "Move button to see diff to front" or something like that but I suggest this is made the default option (default enabled or called like "Move button to open diff to the right of page title").

Well, the problem is that we work to make the Global Watchlist to look closer to Special:Watchlist, and that one has (history|diff/x changes) in the random place.
And what do you think about the icon?

• How the normal watchlist has things is fairly irrelevant to this issue since this is about having the button at a nonvarying location before the article for the reasons elaborate earlier
• If one nevertheless wants to have it look closer the normal watchlist, the solution would be to make this configurable
• However, in the normal Watchlist at Special:Watchlist, the two buttons are at non-varying locations in front of the article. That's also where the button for the diff to see all unseen changes with 1 click is added and where the button to see the latest inline was added. Maybe that's different for some language versions? Here's an up-to-date screenshot proving it for English Wikipedia:
  

Edit: and regarding the icon, I don't think a key icon fits for a button to mark a change as seen, I would suggest the eye button this script uses. Edit2: or where you referring to the icon with the book symbol – what is that icon is for?

In T388336#11534022, @Prototyperspective wrote:

• How the normal watchlist has things is fairly irrelevant to this issue since this is about having the button at a nonvarying location before the article for the reasons elaborate earlier

I can agree with that, but there are people between tbe reviewers that don't. It interrupts to two my patches for now.

• If one nevertheless wants to have it look closer the normal watchlist, the solution would be to make this configurable

Possibly, but I'm not sure if it will be allowed.

• However, in the normal Watchlist at Special:Watchlist, the two buttons are at non-varying locations in front of the article. That's also where the button for the diff to see all unseen changes with 1 click is added and where the button to see the latest inline was added. Maybe that's different for some language versions? Here's an up-to-date screenshot proving it for English Wikipedia:

Looks like you have some gadget, here is the safemode version in English Wikipedia:

I answered the question about the icon before your comment in two edits (just forgot it earlier but also I indeed don't care much if this is not the see diff for unseen changes button).

I can agree with that, but there are people between tbe reviewers that don't. It interrupts to two my patches for now.

Is that actually the case? If so, what's the explanation/reasons for why this would be the case? If this is the case and truly so, then how big of a fraction is that share of users? I doubt the location of the button would impede reviewers work and even if this was the case then that would be addressed in the next point.

Possibly, but I'm not sure if it will be allowed.

Why would it not be allowed to make the buttons position configurable (varying location after article titles like currently and nonvarying location before title)?

Looks like you have some gadget, here is the safemode version in English Wikipedia:

No, you just have the Watchlist with some strange configs, probably the group articles by page setting. I really don't know why anybody would use this setting, especially on a Wikipedia as active as English Wikipedia and never really got an answer when I asked people who have that setting enabled. Maybe you can explain why one would enable this setting which groups changes by day and makes the Watchlist extremely long, cluttered, and difficult/time-inefficient to go through. Either way, it's not a default setting so this is not the default way the Watchlist looks like.

In T388336#11534089, @Prototyperspective wrote:

I answered the question about the icon before your comment in two edits (just forgot it earlier but also I indeed don't care much if this is not the see diff for unseen changes button).

I can see it now. Yes, the opened book.

I can agree with that, but there are people between the reviewers that don't. It interrupts to two my patches for now.

Is that actually the case? If so, what's the explanation/reasons for why this would be the case? If this is the case and truly so, then how big of a fraction is that share of users? I doubt the location of the button would impede reviewers work and even if this was the case then that would be addressed in the next point.

As I said, it's big enough to stop two changes, and experienced enough for me to listen to them.

Possibly, but I'm not sure if it will be allowed.

Why would it not be allowed to make the buttons position configurable (varying location after article titles like currently and nonvarying location before title)?

Because somehow people do not like too much settings. One of the two matches I mentioned is exactly about that. I definitely can try, but don't build expectations.

Looks like you have some gadget, here is the safemode version in English Wikipedia:

No, you just have the Watchlist with some strange configs, probably the group articles by page setting. I really don't know why anybody would use this setting, especially on a Wikipedia as active as English Wikipedia and never really got an answer when I asked people who have that setting enabled. Maybe you can explain why one would enable this setting which groups changes by day and makes the Watchlist extremely long, cluttered, and difficult/time-inefficient to go through. Either way, it's not a default setting so this is not the default way the Watchlist looks like.

Because this is the only way one can work. I never understood the alternative, show the last edit only and ignore the rest.

I'm starting to work on this in Gerrit now, you can follow the results in https://3a4fde509c.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Special:GlobalWatchlist, if you want. I'm not making the final version, just trying to see how it looks like.

I never understood the alternative, show the last edit only and ignore the rest.

I don't understand that either. That's why I'm looking for a native way to open the diff for all unseen changes with 1 click from the Watchlist. You didn't describe why you need this. I think the only way to not waste hours in addition on Watchlist checking per week is having a since-last-seen button so I don't know why the function is not there natively. The roundabout way is to click the history button for each page and then manually select the oldest unseen revision to see the diff.

In any case, it's not the default way the Watchlist looks like and is not how it looks like for most registered editors either so one can't argue making things look more like the normal Watchlist implies the button should be moved after the article title as if that was the case there.

The book icon looks fine. Great to hear, thanks for the link.

I don't understand that either.

So what do you use, if not "show only the last", "group by days", and "show every edit in separate line"? There is something more that I forgot?

What do you think about a button, at the beginning of the line, that opens diff between the previous version and the current version? I mean, if the "3 changes" is Special:diff/abc/abc+3, the button will be Special:diff/abc/0. I can add it, and it fulfills your description. It is the key icon you saw earlier. I built that gadget just to have this button.

I do two things: 1. use a script that adds a button to see the since last seen diff next to the other buttons (which are before the article title) – this can be seen in the screenshot above 2. not using the English Wikipedia Watchlist anymore and hoping such a button gets added + being involved in calls for adding this functionality such as this issue (removing a main blocker to the Global Watchlist being usable) and Wishlist wishes.

I use the default setting of the Watchlist, maybe you misunderstood my prior comment.
A button before the article title to open just the latest would not be useful. What's needed is a button to see a diff of unseen changes, it's not important whether the number of edits included in that diff is shown there – it can be just an icon.

The default setting in Special:Watchlist is "show the last edit, ignore the rest. I'm building the key button now, we'll see what it will be.

Well, you can see a very raw draft. I should split the logs, convert to a table, replace commas by pipe, check the flags, and so on, but you can see the vague vision for now.

I can't log in with my Wikimedia login there – do I need to sign up on that patch wiki to see?

In T388336#11534879, @Prototyperspective wrote:

I can't log in with my Wikimedia login there – do I need to sign up on that patch wiki to see?

Reminder: login Alice, password patchdemo1.

UPD: I finished the code, I think. Looks fine, but now I should add tons of cases to check different combinations. Hopefully, tomorrow.

Change #1226940 had a related patch set uploaded (by IKhitron; author: IKhitron):

[mediawiki/extensions/GlobalWatchlist@master] Rebuild the entry while using proper messages for log entries

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1226940

Well, I did all I wanted. I need to clean up the code, but you can check the results now, there are many cases added. About the diff links before the text, if it can't be done, there is another possibility for you. Gadget or user script that will move the links, it will be possible if and when I resolve T275159: Fire a hook after every list rebuild.

The whole point of this issue is to move the button to see the diff of all unseen changes to before the article title. I explained why this is needed/useful and that this is how it is for the default Watchlist. Gadgets and user scripts moving the buttons are not a solution.

In T388336#11539765, @Prototyperspective wrote:

Gadgets and user scripts moving the buttons are not a solution.

Why not? You use them in Special:Globalwatchlist exactly for that matter.
UPD: And by the way, I already added a button "compare to current version" at the beginning of the line, by your request, so A) Noone will allow me two, and B) It does exactly what you want, why it's not enough for you?

Then one could just as well use the normal Watchlist which does have the button in front. Only a small fraction of users think about what they'd like to have instead of just not putting up with sth new or just doing something highly inefficient and exhaustive for a long time without reflecting; and then only a fraction of these users know gadgets exist and could exist for this purpose and will look for a gadget that does that; and only a fraction of these users would find the gadget if it exists (and it doesn't). There is no reason to not have this as a setting and no good reason to move the buttons to the nonvarying location at the front of the lines by default.

UPD: And by the way, I already added a button "compare to current version" at the beginning of the line

Sounds great but I can't see that button in the demo. (In the demo the 2 pages that have more than 1 edit only have the unwatch and the mark page as read buttons in the front column).

In T388336#11548305, @Prototyperspective wrote:

Then one could just as well use the normal Watchlist which does have the button in front.

It doesn't. It's a gadget or a script.

Only a small fraction of users think about what they'd like to have instead of just not putting up with sth new or just doing something highly inefficient and exhaustive for a long time without reflecting; and then only a fraction of these users know gadgets exist and could exist for this purpose and will look for a gadget that does that; and only a fraction of these users would find the gadget if it exists (and it doesn't). There is no reason to not have this as a setting and no good reason to move the buttons to the nonvarying location at the front of the lines by default.

Well, you use it in a gadget or a script.

UPD: And by the way, I already added a button "compare to current version" at the beginning of the line

Sounds great but I can't see that button in the demo. (In the demo the 2 pages that have more than 1 edit only have the unwatch and the mark page as read buttons in the front column).

Here are these two keys, for all the edited pages that have no "N" tag.

I meant the buttons are in the front in the normal Watchlist. In regards to the since last seen button, if one also needs a gadget to get this properly in usable format in the Global Watchlist then that's not an improvement over the normal Watchlist.
The button you highlighted is for marking the changes as seen, not for opening the diff.

In T388336#11550308, @Prototyperspective wrote:

I meant the buttons are in the front in the normal Watchlist. In regards to the since last seen button, if one also needs a gadget to get this properly in usable format in the Global Watchlist then that's not an improvement over the normal Watchlist.

99.999999999% of the users in the world do not have diff link in the beginning of the line, as far as I know. And the Global Watchlist is not supposed to be the improvement of Special:GlobalWatchlist, the aim is to collect them. It may be in an improvements in some points, but each one could be approved or not. I think there is a 60% chance that I'll need to remove eventually the new golden key link I've added for you, though I'd like to keep it if it will be allowed.

The button you highlighted is for marking the changes as seen, not for opening the diff.

The open book is marking the changes. The golden key is the diff.

99.999999999% of the users in the world do not have diff link in the beginning of the line

This is what I addressed in the comment you're replying to: I meant the buttons are in the front in the normal Watchlist, not the since-last-seen button. That so few users have the gadget for this in the normal watchlist shows how just having a gadget is not an alternative.

the Global Watchlist is not supposed to be the improvement of Special:GlobalWatchlist

If you meant improvement of Special:Watchlist then what I said does not require or imply that. I think it's more useful for adding a since last seen diff button than combining multiple watchlists onto one page even when just the latter was the original purpose because that button is severely needed IF probably hundreds–thousands of excess hours per month that volunteers waste but could spend on other things are of any value. I think these are of value.

chance that I'll need to remove eventually the new golden key link I've added for you […] The open book is marking the changes. The golden key is the diff.

The tooltip "Up, up and away" is unclear but it can't be the button to see the diff of all unseen edits because it's not displayed for the items that have more than 1 changes. Such a button is all that this issue is about and I think it's among the top 4 or so most needed or most impactful things WMF could do at all, the others being increasing technical development, machine translation project, and unhiding categories on mobile. This is because volunteers could then use the saved time and check more Watchlist items and write more articles in the countless hours saved.

In T388336#11550959, @Prototyperspective wrote:

99.999999999% of the users in the world do not have diff link in the beginning of the line

This is what I addressed in the comment you're replying to: I meant the buttons are in the front in the normal Watchlist, not the since-last-seen button. That so few users have the gadget for this in the normal watchlist shows how just having a gadget is not an alternative.

Neither of these buttons is in the front of the line in the Special:Watchlist

the Global Watchlist is not supposed to be the improvement of Special:Watchlist

If you meant improvement of Special:Watchlist then what I said does not require or imply that. I think it's more useful for adding a since last seen diff button than combining multiple watchlists onto one page even when just the latter was the original purpose because that button is severely needed IF probably hundreds–thousands of excess hours per month that volunteers waste but could spend on other things are of any value. I think these are of value.

Yes, sorry, my typo. And because of this there is no garanty it will be accepted. Danny could do this, I don't, I'm not the official maintainer.

chance that I'll need to remove eventually the new golden key link I've added for you […] The open book is marking the changes. The golden key is the diff.

The tooltip "Up, up and away" is unclear but it can't be the button to see the diff of all unseen edits because it's not displayed for the items that have more than 1 changes. Such a button is all that this issue is about and I think it's among the top 4 or so most needed or most impactful things WMF could do at all, the others being increasing technical development, machine translation project, and unhiding categories on mobile. This is because volunteers could then use the saved time and check more Watchlist items and write more articles in the countless hours saved.

• The text is just WIP placeholder. And the key appears for every page that is not new, not just for those with one edit. I added more edits, if it wasn't clear.

Neither of these buttons is in the front of the line in the Special:Watchlist

We already wrote about this earlier – I don't know if you're in denial or forgot about it but the default Special:Watchlist has the buttons in front of the article. This is also where gadgets like the inline-diff-viewer gadget usually add any extra buttons. Additionally, I gave reasons why that is the best place or at least a place many users would like to have the button in my earlier comments as well as the issue description.

Danny could do this, I don't, I'm not the official ainfaner.

Don't know what you meant with ainfaner but maybe maintainer or developer – I hope @DannyS712 sees and considers this issue. Thanks nevertheless for your other developments of the GW.

Danny has been inactive lately and very likely won't have time.

In T388336#11552570, @Prototyperspective wrote:

Danny could do this, I don't, I'm not the official ainfaner.

Don't know what you meant with ainfaner but maybe maintainer or developer – I hope @DannyS712 sees and considers this issue. Thanks nevertheless for your other developments of the GW.

Thank you, fixed the typo.

Neither of these buttons is in the front of the line in the Special:Watchlist

We already wrote about this earlier – I don't know if you're in denial or forgot about it but the default Special:Watchlist has the buttons in front of the article. This is also where gadgets like the inline-diff-viewer gadget usually add any extra buttons. Additionally, I gave reasons why that is the best place or at least a place many users would like to have the button in my earlier comments as well as the issue description.

Please behave properly, without insults. There are two modes in the Watchlist, regular and enhanced with rcfilters. The enhanced one has two submodes, with and without "group by page". It also divided by "show last edit" vs. "show all edits". There are some more options dividings. The diff link in the start of the line appears only in enhanced mode, only in its "without grouping" submode, and only when it's "show all edits". It took me about an hour to try to find the cause why you have these links in the start of the line, and I failed. Than I asked on Discord server, and somebody knew about this, and told me. So "everybody" it isn't. Only those who use filters, sees all edits, and wants them line after line, instead of grouping. As a result, the diff link in the beginning of the line happens in one of six variants only. If you want the reviewers that want the Global Watchlist close to the Special:Watchlist agree with moving the link, start in moving it in 83% of the Special:Watchlist modes, if its creators will agree (which I hope they do, but it isn't the case now), and when the Special:Watchlist will have the link in standard place in the beginning, I could tell freely to the reviewers I'm doing it the same. I never saw this link there personally, appears, because I do not understand how to work in non-grouped mode, and get a very very long watchlist, when it's much easier to see the difference between the first unseen and the current version, instead of dozens of single diffs, but it's just me.

I behave properly and as far as I can remember I never insulted anybody on any Wikimedia project, including here. We already talked about this earlier. In the default Special:Watchlist, the buttons are before the article labels/links and that is a plain fact. If you have your Watchlist configured somehow and forgot about the defaults that doesn't make this objective fact false.

Unfortunately I can't continue this conversation on these terms. I would just not answering, but my own believe always was that not to answer to anything except "you are welcome" without telling is the worst in the human behavior, so I do answer, accordingly.

No idea what you mean with "these terms". I clarified that the buttons are before the article title in the default Watchlist which is a plain fact and don't wish to post even more offtopic comments in this issue, sorry but thanks nevertheless. This issue is only about moving the diff buttons to before the article title and nothing else really.

Test wiki created on Patch demo by IKhitron using patch(es) linked to this task:
https://13c716ad28.catalyst.wmcloud.org/w/

Test wiki on Patch demo by IKhitron using patch(es) linked to this task was deleted:

https://13c716ad28.catalyst.wmcloud.org/w/