←back to thread

GitHub no longer uses Toasts

(primer.style)
123 points samsolomon | 2 comments | 08 Dec 25 19:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
codingjoe ◴[08 Dec 25 20:47 UTC] No.46197454[source]▶
Finally, I hope that trend catches on. God knows how many messages are missed thanks to toasts.
replies(1): >>46197527 #
Groxx ◴[08 Dec 25 20:53 UTC] No.46197527[source]▶
>Toasts pose significant accessibility concerns and are not recommended for use.

yeah. OBVIOUSLY. good fucking riddance.

they wouldn't be half as bad if they always came with a notification center for seeing the ones you missed... but the other half is still incredibly bad and isn't worth using at all.

replies(1): >>46197773 #
Muromec ◴[08 Dec 25 21:18 UTC] No.46197773[source]▶
>yeah. OBVIOUSLY. good fucking riddance.

Are they really? Isn't it pretty normal "role status aria something something polite" thingy to announce feedback to user?

replies(2): >>46197971 #>>46198359 #
JoshTriplett ◴[08 Dec 25 21:36 UTC] No.46197971[source]▶
Accessibility is more than just screen readers. Toasts are also not accessible for folks with low vision, low peripheral vision, etc. And the time-based disappearance is unpleasant for many people, as one of many examples of "accessibility improvements are also often usability improvements".

A message that you have to explicitly dismiss, and that's stored in a "message history" somewhere, is much more accessible and usable.

replies(5): >>46198368 #>>46198369 #>>46198397 #>>46198475 #>>46200012 #
d3Xt3r ◴[08 Dec 25 22:15 UTC] No.46198369[source]▶
That depends on the size of the toast, appearance and frequency. We (an MSP) used a Windows toast notification[1] to encourage people initiate the Win10 > Win11 upgrade at their own convenient time (before it gets forced down on them) - and we got a pretty high uptake. The overall feedback from both the project team and users were good: the toast was unmissable, the text explanation was clear, and the big banner image was eye catching.

https://www.imab.dk/windows-10-toast-notification-script/

replies(1): >>46203746 #
1. Groxx ◴[09 Dec 25 11:35 UTC] No.46203746[source]▶
If it has all of:

a "big banner image", buttons that are required to interact or dismiss, doesn't go away on its own after only a couple seconds, and might(?) also exist in the notification center

I think it's pretty safe to label that "definitely not a toast". That's just a notification, or maybe a "non-modal alert". Toasts are distinct from those by being brief and ephemeral.

replies(1): >>46204260 #
2. d3Xt3r ◴[09 Dec 25 12:35 UTC] No.46204260[source]▶
It is technically a toast, according to Microsoft. If you check the link in my previous comment, the script is using the Windows Runtime Toast Notification API, specifically the Windows.UI.Notifications namespace and the ToastGeneric XML toast template.

You can see the API reference here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/windows.ui.notific...