Thread:IDontCareAboutHistory/@comment-499247-20190616235920/@comment-499247-20190617211318

Ballistic Planet wrote: I don't see why it's necessary to have editing disabled on mobile. Could you please provide context for me (or link me somewhere) before I say too much more? At the link I provided above, one of Fandom's technical support specialists, Kirkburn, explained in a comment:

"usage of this option was extremely minimal, and the experience wasn't what we wanted it to be, so it has been removed until we have a better alternative."

I can't say anything else about the development of that feature, because I don't any more than that myself. Ballistic Planet wrote: forums and discussions fulfill a similar niche; they both serve as a means for communication ... there are several people who go on the wiki every day, making posts to the forums, but don't edit mainspace. Therefore, since the two platforms fulfill the same niche, it isn't a stretch to say that there will be people who only use discussions and not actually cross over to mainspace... I believe a majority of the people who use discussions will specifically be there just for discussions, and nothing more. Besides, since as you said, discussions is the only way people on mobile can contact us since they disabled wiki editing on mobile, how would they be able to contribute to mainspace in the first place? It's difficult to speculate what could happen here, unless users are actually permitted to use the discussions feature for its intended purpose, and we let it play out. However, I have had a few personal experiences on other wikis, where a user originally stuck to discussions, but through talking with other users and seeing recommended wiki content/activity popping up on the side-bars, they were encouraged to contribute a bit to the wiki as well. Not near as much as regular users, mind you, but at least they became a little bit more a part of the community in their own small way. I presume the Fandom App/Mobile-exclusive users may not end up editing on the wiki, but most people also have access to a desktop, or a web browser app on their tablet which would allow them a way to edit when/if they really wanted to.

Just to be clear to anyone reading, I want to stress again that I do not believe discussions need to replace forums on this wiki. This wiki's forums are highly-developed and maintained stringently by dedicated users. I just don't like seeing any segment of Fandom's userbase barred from being able to take part in certain aspects of a community, when there are ways they could be having an enhanced experience. - Sitb ( Message wall / Talk page )  21:13, June 17, 2019 (UTC)