Seriously, I have nothing against tags per se, they have their use but why does EL&U need that monolithic "Watched Tags" box on the right-hand side? The two boxes take up so much S…P…A…C…E.
This is what users (will) see on the new theme when it rolls out.
Can we get rid of those chunky binoculars, please? No one on EL&U is a tag watching enthusiast, this is not Stack Overflow.
On EL&U (and ELL) tags are useful for categorizing but useless for discovering intriguing thought-provoking questions.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't believe EL&U users select questions according to tags but on Stack Overflow they do. SO users answer questions on the programmes they specialise in. It makes sense that they have a list of ignored tags and can have the option of hiding questions they feel unqualified to answer.
On Meta, the new Watched Tags has generally received favourable reviews by users who are primarily contributors on Stack Overflow
• I like this. I've had a love/hate relationship with Internet Explorer for about 2 decades... I follow the "#InternetExplorer" related tags to see what crazy things appear and to help out lost souls that venture into IE quirkyness... but "favorite" was always a bit weird... IE is not my favorite.* @scunliffe
• I do not want to be a "Negative Nancy", but the new tag->flyouts are hideous. When I scroll down the page with the mousewheel, the tags pop-ups are annoying as heck when you momentarily pause. Next the "Watched Tags" and "Ignored Tags" now take up 5 times the vertical real-estate than the original simple tags widget did. Why do you people think making the page pop-out like neon on the Vegas strip is wanted -- or even a good idea for that matter? We have now lost 2-full questions of space at the top with the latest change there, bigger is not always better. If it's not broken -- don't fix it. @David C. Rankin
• Adblock-Block Element-Poof – @TaW
• I really like this update. The tag description is easier to read and interact with, the layout is lighter, and makes Watched Tags more understandable in general. @DarkCygnus
But what about users who are not active in the following communities: Stack Overflow, Code Review, Cross validated, Math Overflow, Mathematics, Server Fault, or Super User? What about the users in the other 160+ sites that do not exploit or track tags in the same way?
Moreover, when you do select which tags to "watch" and which to "ignore", the boxes do not disappear. The white search boxes with the red "add" buttons are eye-catching, so obviously the developers want to encourage users to fill that tank with tags, and then what? Questions containing those tags are highlighted in that barely noticeable yellowy tone
Can you see which questions are highlighted above? How many users even know that graphic element even existed?
Wouldn't those tag filters be put to better use on the page that is actually dedicated to tags rather than being permanently on display?
Here's an idea, place the "Watched Tags" and the "Ignored Tags" boxes on the right-hand side of the tag page.
Would EL&U and ELL users miss the Watched Tags boxes on the main pages?
Thoughts?
Related:
Watched tags: design flaw
(the aesthetic problem appears to have been resolved under the new theme.)'Favorite Tags' is now 'Tag Watching' (SE Meta)
Put the right column into the new theme's left column (Lawrence's feature request on SE Meta)