Why is the Wikipedia media player so retarded?

Question

Everytime i try to adjust the volume, its goes away after i move my mouse off the volume icon so its impossible to change the volume

Answer 1

Alas, such is life in wikiworld, Bry. It's not a bug, by the way. It's a "feature", as they say. The cure, as you'll be pleased to hear, is almost as simple as the player itself *and* the people that use it. The most obvious solution, of course, is to simply not move your mouse off the volume icon after adjustment because, if you do, it goes away.



"Sure", you're thinking, "but I can't hold the mouse still because I need to use it for other stuff". Fair point, Bry, but don't shoot the messenger. If you don't want to take my well-meant advice then you'll just have to go somewhere else. I really don't know why I bother.



"But my wrist will get sore", you could say. Yes, you could, and again it's a fair point. Glue, Bry. Just glue that badboy to your mousepad when you've got the cursor right where you want it. To make really sure, glue the mousepad to the desk just in case.



Should you accidentally "glue" the volume too loud or quiet, then simply move your chair closer, or farther away from your speakers to a point at which you can listen in comfort.

Answer 2

If you're seeing the new, blue interface, slide your mouse directly vertically upward from the volume icon to the volume slider, and it shouldn't disappear. Even if you don't move your mouse exactly vertically, if you move your mouse quickly over where it was, it should come back.



(If it still disappears, please tell me, and let me know what browser, browser version, OS, and OS version you're using. I'll report the bug to someone working on it and it should hopefully be fixed in the next update. In the meantime, try downloading the file manually and opening it in an awesome free media program like VLC: < http://www.videolan.org/ >)



If you're seeing the slightly older grey-and-black interface, simply click to the right of the volume icon on the black bars there to adjust the number of bars and thereby the volume.





To answer your question more directly: the media player is "retarded" because it's still in development. It is being made to improve upon the earlier media player, which was worse. Please be patient with a few bugs like this—they'll slowly get fixed.

Answer 3

Because like practically everything else on Wikipedia, it has to be politically correct. Political correctness inevitably leads to stupid things. In this case, politically correct means a player specifically designed and donated by a Wikimedia volunteer. It is ideologically offensive to the Frei Kultur Kinder that run Wikipedia to actually pay for media or applications used on the site, or to accept anything under a limited license. This is why Wikipedia also lacks a WYSIWYG editor, despite nearly a decade of promises to get one. They are waiting for someone to make it for them and hand it over totally free of charge and no strings attached.



The millions of dollars in surplus cash that the Wikimedia Foundation ("WMF", owner of the Wikipedia domains) is sitting on is intended for other pressing priorities, like cushy sinecures, consulting contracts doled out to friends and insiders, and "outreach" programs. The WMF just recently created a position for a PR director with the job title of "Storyteller". This is not a joke--check out the third link below.



Consider the media player your introduction to the madness that is Wikipedia.

Answer 4

I seriously doubt you're a licene professional the make such an absurd diagnosis!