Move filters to sidebar?

[tripu]

Instead of having them at the top of the main content area.

/cc @bert-github.

[tripu]

-1, because:

• Sidebars tend to be too narrow to fit several filters in a usable manner
• Sidebars are supposed to be used for “side” content, notes, useful links, etc — while filters are an important part of the content of the page (thus, it makes sense they're shown on the main area)
• Common use of the regular w3.org sidebar isn't consistent with this, I think

[wseltzer]

The jumping of the filter bar as you scroll down the page is distracting.

[tripu]

@wseltzer, is that a little jump just once, once you scroll past the filters? Or something worse?

There should be just that small jitter, and only once as you scroll all the way to the bottom (or to the top)… If it “jumps” in any other way, that's a bug I should look into!

[wseltzer]

Just the "small jitter," but it bothered me several times until I found what was causing it. I prefer pages where the location of text changes only in response to scrolling/movement, not in response to other elements shifting around.

[chaals]

see also #41

Agree that having a bar that sits on top is a frustrating feature of the modern web I would prefer not to adopt.

I understand that sidebars can get too big (often the case currently in /TR specs) or not fit well to provide enough information (also the case currently).

Giving the sidebar more space on focus might help - or not, and it's more work...

[tripu]

😮

I think that sticky overlays are of great help sometimes, and can make navigation or filtering much faster. (Like so many other features, used sensibly :)

I want to hear from others about this. I think at least @tanyeah, @bert-github and @deniak were in favour — or neutral at worst (#17, #21).

[deniak]

I find them useful especially when there's a large list like we have on /TR. It sucks to have to go to the top of the page when after scrolling down, you can't find what you are looking for.
That being said, part of the stickiness is based on JavaScript and I wonder if having a solution 100% CSS will prevent the small jump and make the scrolling more fluid.