5

The site theme appears to put the content area on a stack of paper with paperclips on it.

However, the paper clips are on the top right:

enter image description here

Assuming a left-to-right language (the site is in English), unless we are looking at the back of the stack of paper, the paperclips are on the wrong (or, at least, unusual) side.

If somebody handed me a set of papers clipped on the top-right, I believe my reaction would be a silent face-palm and a "why...".

12
  • 5
    I... don't think I've ever even noticed those before.
    – enderland
    Mar 16, 2017 at 21:58
  • Well, sure, but I'd probably rather see them gone than moved to the left...
    – Lilienthal Mod
    Mar 16, 2017 at 22:01
  • 1
    @enderland I only noticed them because they give bunny ears to avatars on the profile activity page.
    – Jason C
    Mar 16, 2017 at 22:12
  • 3
    @JasonC what has been seen CANNOT BE UNSEEN. That's actually pretty funny, I don't know how I never saw that before...
    – enderland
    Mar 16, 2017 at 23:44
  • 2
    Oh geez, thanks. Can't be unseen, indeed! Mar 17, 2017 at 2:34
  • 8
    If they change it, though, they should do it only on main, such that meta is the back side of the page. Mar 17, 2017 at 2:35
  • those are paperclips!?
    – Kilisi Mod
    Mar 17, 2017 at 9:58
  • 2
    In Arabic and Hebrew they are most certainly in the correct place. status-declined
    – Oded
    Mar 17, 2017 at 11:29
  • 7
    @Lilienthal But if you remove them, the site will fall apart.
    – Jason C
    Mar 17, 2017 at 15:38
  • Im not sure that the standard should apply to digial paperclips though... Mar 17, 2017 at 18:32
  • 1
    +1 Please fix! Literally unvisitable!
    – Prodnegel
    Mar 17, 2017 at 22:30
  • @Oded Then you have to fix a different problem. In Arabic and Hebrew, other things, such as the submit buttons, the voting buttons and vote count, etc. should be to the right, and the sidebar should be to the left.
    – Masked Man
    Mar 21, 2017 at 9:08

1 Answer 1

2

That's the design.

It is indeed meant to invoke the idea of paper clips.

We will fix this when the paper clips stop you from turning the page to the next one.

9
  • "We will fix this when the paper clips stop you from turning the page" - LOL! Is that a planned enhancement? Mar 20, 2017 at 18:21
  • @JoeStrazzere - just waiting for the HTML specification to catch up!
    – Oded
    Mar 20, 2017 at 20:08
  • 2
    That doesn't really answer anything, does it? Of course, the OP knows those are paper clips, he is asking why it is by design, when it would be better (in his opinion) to have it on the left. Why exactly can the paper clips not be moved to the left?
    – Masked Man
    Mar 21, 2017 at 9:05
  • 1
    @MaskedMan - why should they?
    – Oded
    Mar 21, 2017 at 9:18
  • 1
    For the reasons mentioned in the OP's question. Isn't that what the question was about? Just to be clear on this, I don't care where the clips are, just that this answer doesn't adequately address the OP's question (even though he has "accepted" it).
    – Masked Man
    Mar 21, 2017 at 10:55
  • 4
    @MaskedMan - the answer is "that's how it was designed". You may not find that much of an answer, but that's really all there is to it. The designer who created the designer has left the company, so not something we can get more insight into (at a guess, I'd say it is better on the right because being on the left would disturb the visual hierarchy of the page).
    – Oded
    Mar 21, 2017 at 10:58
  • 1
    While that does explain why they are on the right, it doesn't answer why the design cannot be changed. The OP says the clips are on the "wrong" side, which implies asking why it cannot be moved to the correct side. Your "guess" does answer that.
    – Masked Man
    Mar 21, 2017 at 11:06
  • 1
    @MaskedMan the OP tagged this bug, and this answer says it's not a bug. "We're not going to fix that" is a valid response to bug reports -- maybe not the one you want, but valid. Mar 21, 2017 at 18:43
  • 1
    @MonicaCellio Alright, I didn't notice the bug tag. I thought the OP was asking for a feature-request. From the description, it seemed that's what his intention was.
    – Masked Man
    Mar 24, 2017 at 3:46

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .