I’d like to add that this change also broke my Lesson Filter script. I’ve mentioned this before, but I think adding a formal way to manipulate the lesson/review queue would be very beneficial here. As I’m sure you know, scripts that filter or reorder the lesson/review queues are very popular, but they are currently manipulating internal details which are bound to change as they did here. It would be nice if in the long run the lesson and review pages included hooks in the JavaScript workflow for initializing the queue or picking the next item off of the queue, etc., which could make scripts like this easier to build and less likely to break.
I know script users are a relatively small fraction of the entire community, but a not insignificant number of users rely on my Lesson Filter script (it’s been downloaded about 3000 times for what that’s worth). For some of these users, it’s the only reason they haven’t quit WaniKani entirely. I want to share the two main use cases (as far as I know) in case it helps. Maybe something here will impact the long term roadmap of the product.
- The first usage is probably the one you’re most familiar with: prioritizing lessons for radicals and kanji to increase level up speed, then doing the vocab while waiting until the radicals and kanji reach guru. This helps users go at max speed with a more balanced workload since they can do lessons over many days instead of all at once.
- The second usage is to create a more balanced learning experience. I know that many (myself included) use Lesson Filter to do a mix of kanji and vocab lessons each day. For some people, using the default lesson order setting (lowest level then type) can be incredibly painful. I always found it much harder to learn kanji than vocab, so doing 30 kanji lessons in a row before learning any vocab would have been an absolutely nightmare for me. But the other options in the settings are not ideal alternatives since the randomization can result in slower level up times for no good reason. That’s why these users like using Lesson Filter: They can level up at a steady pace while still learning a mix of kanji and vocab together. Increased efficiency and lower stress. I think it would be great if a feature like Lesson Filter was included in WaniKani by default, even if it worked slightly differently to not overwhelm beginners.