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Maniphest T598

MediaWiki OAuth dialog text is unclear and sounds more scary than it is
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Description

When users want to login using Wikimedia SUL, they get an unclear and somewhat scary dialog text -- see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:Phabricator/versus_Bugzilla#SUL

Submitted to https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=71888 because (I believe) this is an OAuth extension problem (MediaWiki's extension, not the one developed by @mmodell for Phabricator). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Something that we could improve on our side is the "phabricator-production" denomination. "phabricator.wikimedia.org" would sound more clear and friendly.

Screenshot_from_2014-10-09_18:32:24.png (900×1 px, 130 KB)

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StatusSubtypeAssignedTask
 OpenNoneT90925 General authentication improvements for MediaWiki
 OpenNoneT86869 Support a nice sso experience with MediaWiki's OAuth
 OpenNoneT75062 OAuth permission screen needs redesign for better usability and comprehension
 ResolvedEsandersT69051 Privacy policy text should be aligned with the rest of the text, not outdented
 OpenNoneT64686 Replace link to WMF privacy policy with link to app's privacy policy on OAuth authorize dialog
 OpenNoneT98843 Store a link to app's privacy policy in OAuth consumer registration form
 OpenNoneT64687 Add warning for user on /authorize about privacy policy
 DeclinedNoneT91825 Improve text of OAuth authorization dialog
 DuplicateQgilT598 MediaWiki OAuth dialog text is unclear and sounds more scary than it is
 DuplicateNoneT98879 OAuth authorization dialogs should have a plain (skinless) version so that they can be shown in popup windows.
 ResolvedNoneT64763 keyboard Tab order in OAuth Confirm dialog starts with Cancel
 OpenNoneT96158 Add a "not X? log in with a different username" bit to the authorize form
 ResolvedNoneT95216 OAuth's "phabricator-production would like to have access" dialog appears can appear way off-screen in Firefox or Chrome mobile Android browsers
 ResolvedEsandersT102973 OOUI-ify the OAuth authorization dialog
 ResolvedNoneT113099 Create an OOUI dialog subclass for the OAuth authorization dialog
 ResolvedFeaturematmarexT71246 Provide a way to show OAuth authorization dialog with a layout appropriate for a popup
 ResolvedmatmarexT362706 Permit displaying the login / signup page in a popup or iframe
 ResolvedNoneT128168 Oauth authorise permission dialog does not resize after window is resized
 OpenNoneT94478 Only show grants that the user has permission to use, to avoid confusion
 OpenNoneT91801 Support a more user friendly "re-authentication" flow for returning users
 OpenNoneT151516 Improve OAuth grant messages
 ResolvedFrostlyT70312 OAuth: Grant "High-volume editing" is confusing (does not provide "edit" right)
 ResolvedFrostlyT148942 OAuth grant "All projects on this site" is confusing
 ResolvedNoneT151515 authonlyprivate OAuth grant should not mention real name when the wiki does not allow them
 OpenNoneT95133 OAuth authorization dialog text specifies the grant scope (current wiki / all wikis) in a confusing way

Event Timeline

Qgil created this task.Oct 9 2014, 5:01 PM
Qgil raised the priority of this task from to Needs Triage.
Qgil updated the task description. (Show Details)
Qgil added a project: Phabricator.
Qgil changed Security from none to None.
Qgil subscribed.
jm3 subscribed.Oct 9 2014, 9:17 PM
Qgil triaged this task as Medium priority.Oct 10 2014, 8:55 PM

Marking as "Normal" here because this is related with the "out of the box experience", although this is a problem that needs to be solved by the SUL devs -- or a volunteer willing to give it a shot.

Ltrlg subscribed.Oct 10 2014, 10:20 PM
He7d3r subscribed.Oct 13 2014, 1:24 AM
Qgil added a subscriber: Ancheta_Wis.Oct 22 2014, 6:43 PM

Thanks @Ancheta_Wis! Another user that actually reads this dialog and gets totally confused: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Erik_Moeller_(WMF)#Phabricator_login_sequence

I bet we have many more that actually just trust and click or just silently leave with the hope that in the future this will be clearer.

Qgil added a subscriber: • Deskana.Oct 22 2014, 7:00 PM
Qgil lowered the priority of this task from Medium to Low.Nov 7 2014, 10:49 AM
Qgil added a project: MediaWiki-extensions-OAuth.Nov 27 2014, 12:29 PM
lfaraone merged a task: T73888: OAuth dialog text is unclear and sounds more scary than it is.Dec 13 2014, 9:10 PM
lfaraone added subscribers: • csteipp, Anomie, Krenair, aaron.
lfaraone subscribed.
Qgil lowered the priority of this task from Low to Lowest.Jan 15 2015, 7:35 AM

We have +1500 users now and most of them have gone through this process silently. The OAuth team claims that what the label says is true, and they see no urgent reason to change it. The Wikimedia Phabricator team has no plans to patch their extension, therefore we have several possibilities handling this task:

  • Prioritize as Needs Volunteer (which I just did)
  • Remove the Phabricator project, leaving to to OAuth alone.
  • Decline the task.
Qgil moved this task from To Triage to Need discussion on the Phabricator board.Jan 15 2015, 7:35 AM
• csteipp added a parent task: T86869: Support a nice sso experience with MediaWiki's OAuth.Jan 15 2015, 5:22 PM
• csteipp removed a project: Phabricator.
• csteipp added a subscriber: • mmodell.
Ricordisamoa subscribed.Feb 11 2015, 2:03 PM
bd808 subscribed.Feb 18 2015, 5:41 AM

@Qgil is getting better worded text for this dialog something that your team could help with? It turns out that back-end focused engineers are typically computer power users who are not intimidated by jargon and take cues from a variety of sources in a way that leads them to being blind to things that are "obvious" to more typical audiences.

I think most of the OAuth UI could use the practiced hand of a technical writer and/or UX designer to help define a more welcoming experience for this powerful and useful core feature.

• Deskana added a comment.Feb 18 2015, 5:47 AM
In T598#1045742, @bd808 wrote:

@Qgil is getting better worded text for this dialog something that your team could help with? It turns out that back-end focused engineers are typically computer power users who are not intimidated by jargon and take cues from a variety of sources in a way that leads them to being blind to things that are "obvious" to more typical audiences.

I think most of the OAuth UI could use the practiced hand of a technical writer and/or UX designer to help define a more welcoming experience for this powerful and useful core feature.

I'd suggest analysing how Google Play handles their permissions system. Their use case is mostly the same, namely telling the user what permissions an app wants and letting them make a decision whether they're okay with it. They do a good job of it, in my opinion.

Example for the Wikipedia app, which needs relatively few permissions compared to some apps:

Screenshot_2015-02-17-21-45-38.png (1×1 px, 515 KB)

If you tap on the boxes, some additional explanation is offered... but not much. And it's really still really generic:

Screenshot_2015-02-17-21-43-16.png (1×1 px, 487 KB)

Qgil claimed this task.Feb 19 2015, 1:14 PM
In T598#1045742, @bd808 wrote:

@Qgil is getting better worded text for this dialog something that your team could help with?

I'll claim this part of the task. I havea bit of backlog but I will get eventually there... unless someone wants to steal the task and run with it. :)

Qgil raised the priority of this task from Lowest to Low.Feb 19 2015, 1:15 PM
bd808 mentioned this in T75062: OAuth permission screen needs redesign for better usability and comprehension.Mar 6 2015, 2:47 AM
bd808 added a parent task: T75062: OAuth permission screen needs redesign for better usability and comprehension.
• Deskana moved this task from Backlog to UI/UX on the MediaWiki-extensions-OAuth board.Mar 6 2015, 10:08 PM
• Deskana closed this task as a duplicate of T91825: Improve text of OAuth authorization dialog.Mar 6 2015, 10:19 PM
bd808 moved this task from UI/UX to Archive on the MediaWiki-extensions-OAuth board.Mar 6 2015, 10:24 PM
Qgil mentioned this in T91825: Improve text of OAuth authorization dialog.Mar 13 2015, 1:26 PM
He7d3r closed this task as a duplicate of T91825: Improve text of OAuth authorization dialog.Apr 6 2015, 4:06 PM
Qgil mentioned this in T95133: OAuth authorization dialog text specifies the grant scope (current wiki / all wikis) in a confusing way.Apr 7 2015, 1:09 PM
Tgr removed a parent task: T75062: OAuth permission screen needs redesign for better usability and comprehension.Jun 30 2015, 12:01 AM
Tgr added a parent task: T91825: Improve text of OAuth authorization dialog.
tom29739 mentioned this in T134004: Confirmation dialog for 'OAuth authenticate only (no api access)' right is not needed.Apr 29 2016, 8:45 PM
Aklapper removed subscribers: Anomie, • wikibugs-l-list.Oct 16 2020, 5:43 PM
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