[sword-devel] CrossWire website / wiki [was: [OT] just join, testing only]

[Troy A. Griffitts]

Top posting because I am commenting in general on this thread.

The CrossWire main page should be very brief, concise, clean, hardly 
ever changed, and point people to project websites... and static.

We have a very strange situation.  CrossWire is intended for 2 very 
different groups of people.  Everyone on this list is interested in the 
development process.  MOST users are not-- especially Windows users 
(with whom most of us developers have a hard time sympathizing).

The main CrossWire page attempts to sensitively cater to both.  We 
briefly point out our developers' pages for SWORD and JSword 
immediately, and then go straight into an attempt to direct users to 
their frontend, organized by OS.

In principle, I think we have the right idea.  In practice we may not 
have hit this target as central as we would have liked.

I agree with the need to let more people update things, but not for the 
main CrossWire page.  And project pages have always been up to each 
project on how they let their pages be edited.  If they want to have 
their whole page be a wiki, then they are welcome.

But again, for the main CrossWire page, if things need to be edited 
often, then we haven't done our job with its purpose.

As for the 'project website' for The SWORD Project engine...
I'd love for more of The SWORD Project developer pages to be wiki 
editable and updated.  Some of these things have already happened with 
the module creation pages, the .conf layouts, etc.

We do have a static set of policies that I'd like to keep static-- our 
purpose statement, etc.

And I'd love to give access to a few old-timer volunteers, who 
understand our terminology and goals, to update the CrossWire main page 
when they see it out of date.  Volunteers?

Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.  I figure if I give permission, then 
I'm reducing your sin. :)

	-Troy.



Jason Galyon wrote:
> Manfred Bergmann wrote:
>> Am 10.11.2008 um 21:46 schrieb Chris Little:
>>
>>   
>>> The Wiki is just plain unattractive. We've got a fairly consistent  
>>> look
>>> throughout the Sword, CrossWire, JSword, & other crosswire.org-hosted
>>> sites. The Wiki is has an inconsistent and very plain appearance with
>>> respect to the Sword site that would presumably point people to it.
>>>     
>> I think the wiki is not unattractive. It is light and bright, the  
>> color are ok and people (maybe) are familiar to it because of wikipedia.
>> Currently I think it is more attractive and inviting than the static  
>> web page.
>>
>>   
>>> Collaborative editing often leads to bad edits. There are parts of the
>>> CrossWire & Sword sites that are out of date and now possibly
>>> inaccurate, but edits to the Wiki can (and have at times been) new and
>>> inaccurate. We get spelling and grammar errors that make us look
>>> unprofessional. We get branding inconsistencies since not everyone  
>>> knows
>>> (or is careful about) the letter casing of the SWORD Project or  
>>> CrossWire.
>>>
>>> I try to read all Wiki edits, and I know I've seen you do  
>>> corrections in
>>> the past. But I can't guarantee that I will catch every bad commit and
>>> it takes time out of my schedule during which I would rather do
>>> something else.
>>>     
>> I could think of responsible people who check edits and tell the  
>> editor: "go back and correct your things".
>> The wiki could be split in certain parts where there are more than one  
>> who "responsible" that content is ok.
>>
>>   
>>> If we want a more up-to-date webpage, Wiki is not the answer. A CMS  
>>> is.
>>> Wikis are for collaboration and whiteboarding.
>>>     
>> A CMS would also be a good idea to start over with an updated web page.
>>
>>
>> Manfred
>>
>>
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>>   
> Wikis are by their very nature, what you make of them. If ugly then the
> mirror is the best place to throw stones.
> 
> Besides, many people look for functionality over aesthetic and 'purty'
> appeal. Content counts.
> 
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