Usability of a Tithing Slip

Mormons pay tithing.  The protocol goes like this:  Fill out a slip of paper, stick the white copy in a gray envelope along with a check or cash, and give it to one of three ecclesiastical leaders.  But this post isn't a lesson on tithing or ecclesiastical leaders; it's about the usability of tithing slips over the years.

When I was a child, the tithing slip was oriented horizontally, like so:

Sometime in the 2000's, I think, The Church changed it to a vertical orientation.  Though I did not know what "usability" meant at the time, I remember feeling extremely excited about the new format.  I mean, who could argue that the new tithing slip was worlds better than the old one?  I defy anyone who would!  In my mind, there was only one thing that needed updating, and that was the address line.  I have an uncanny ability to write in extremely small letters, but even I have a difficult time squeezing my address into such a short field.  I've been waiting for The Church to change that for years!

And so they have.  A new tithing era is upon us.  (The old slip is on the left; the new one is on the right.)

 

See?  Isn't it great?  No more address line!  (Unfortunately, I'm not sure what my membership record number is, and now I guess I have to memorize it.  :/  [Goodness, the Digital Age has spoiled me!]  It's a vast improvement, though.)

One thing I don't like is that so many of the options were collapsed into one broad category called "Other."  Sometimes I don't know exactly where I want my money to go.  I even used to be unaware of the available options.  Seeing everything in a long list, then, is quite helpful.  What I'd like to recommend to Church leaders is that they increase the size of the paper just a bit.  It's relatively small, in case you can't tell.  I don't know the dimensions offhand, but it's a little shorter than a dollar bill and a little wider, too.  If it was just an inch longer, we'd be able to fit everything on there just splendidly.  Hm.

Finally, I love that the yellow receipt paper underneath the white copy is still described as "canary."  If that ever changes, I'll feel a twinge of nostalgia.  

What do you think, readers?

Thing I'm thankful for: a church that is generally up on usability trends