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Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 15:28
by tatewise
Despite having what you call a 'task' approach, the topics we have devised pretty much deal with the stance of "I want to understand about X" ~ formatting is at beginning of Edit Existing Pages, pages is all in Create and Manage Pages, basic links, media & downloads are at end of Edit Existing Pages, more complex stuff is in Advanced Features. We also have the opportunity of using the FAQ section.

I have to disagree about the Page size issue.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up with 'stepping stones', or lists of hyperlinks, or whatever.
The user will still finish up reading a Section within the context of one large Page structure, that may bear no resemblance to the structure they started from. The Sections will always be in the order they were created in that large Page.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 27 Nov 2018 11:01
by ColeValleyGirl
I don't think there's a world of difference between saying something is 'task based' (as in: I want to do this specific thing) or saying 'I want to understand about specific thing X'. In both cases the reader has a purpose in mind and wants to find the relevant (targeted) information quickly, which is what I think the Alternative Approach facilitates (while being realistic about the level of granularity that makes sense on an overview page).

The Alternative Approach is also structured to lead from the basics into the possibilities for editing existing pages and then more complex topics, so it is to some extent catering to different levels of experience.

I was envisaging that the links on the Alternative Approach would lead to a set of pages that were 'topic' oriented -- ie. that covered a single aspect of working with the wiki in more depth -- rather than being simple expansions of the sections on the Overview page -- a slice across the 'Contribute Your Knowledge' subject in yet another direction that caters to the people who want to know 'Everything about X' (the people who work best when they can understand a task in context rather than just following a recipe).

So my proposed set of underlying pages with TOC would be as follows (I'm open to changing page and section titles, and reordering items within each page, and recognise that some pages might become infeasibly long and need splitting into two with links back and forth.

Code: Select all

Editing Pages
	Edit and save a page (I could make an argument for this to be on the overview page, here or in the 'Create and Manage Pages' page, so it may as well stay here)
	Page structure
		Sections
		TOC
		Other standard elements e.g. indexes, backlinks (their purpose and method of creation/update -- crosslinked to Create and Manage Pages?)
	Basic Text Formatting (with cross-references where appropriate to macros or plugins)
		...
	Text layout
		Paragraphs
		Lists
		...
	More Text Styles
		...
	Related pages (e.g. pointers to sections in Advanced Features)

Links and Media (could be two separate pages if length dictates)
	Internal links (should be cross-linked to Create and Manage Pages for the special case of creating a new wiki page)
	External links
	Media images
	Download links (inc Pushfile with cross-reference to plugin section))
	Media Manager
	Advanced Hyperlinks
	Related pages (e.g. pointers to sections in Advanced Features)

Create and Manage Pages
	What sort of Page (should be cross-linked to the relevant page on Advanced NameSpaces)
	Create a page
	Delete a page
	Move/rename a page
	Page aliases
	Shared Page contents
	Page cross-references
	Related pages (e.g. pointers to sections in Advanced Features)

Advanced Features
	[I suspect each Advanced Feature on the Overview page will end up with its own page as mostly not related other than by being 'Advanced' but Advanced Hyperlinks might sit on the 'Links and Media Page']
Re Tips and Tricks, I suspect each item will sit well within one of the above pages, so perhaps include a Tips and Tricks section in each of the above rather than on the overview page?

Re Reference Material, I don't think we should suggest it's advanced... although many people will never need to bother with it, so I'd leave it in a separate section on the Overview Page.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 27 Nov 2018 12:54
by tatewise
We don't seem too far apart after all :o
I was beginning to wonder if you were going to propose an additional 'topic' oriented overview page. :?:
The idea of introducing concepts (such as Layout Structure) covering the scope of each main Page is excellent. :idea:
I'm happy with putting Tips and Tricks in each main Page where they belong.
So I would like to suggest some relatively small refinements to your TOC:

Code: Select all

Editing Existing Pages
	Introduction ~ scope & concepts of page format, fonts, layout, sections, TOC, but refer all else to later Pages
	Edit and Save a Page ~ as agreed
	Character Styles ~ all the styles listed on overview page (includes those from Extra Text Styles)
		Font Style ~ bold, italic, etc, and fh icon
		Font Colour
		Smileys
		Special Chars ~ typography, signs, accented chars
	Page Text Layout ~ all the features listed on overview page (includes those from Extra Text Styles)
		Paragraphs
		Section Headlines
		Horizontal Lines
		Lists
		Tables
		Boxes
		... etc
	Tips and Tricks ~ related to Page formatting
	Related Pages ~ refer to sections in Advanced Features if necessary

Links and Media
	Introduction ~ scope & concepts of hyperlinks, namespaces, media, images & downloads
	Internal Links ~ refer to Create and Manage Pages for the special case of creating a new wiki page
	External Links
	Media Images ~ horizontal position, size, etc
	Download Links ~ inc Pushfile with cross-reference to plugin section
	Media Manager ~ both toolbar 'Add images and other files' and Tools > Media Manager
	Advanced Hyperlinks ~ refer to Advanced NameSpaces (this might fit better in Advanced Features)
	Tips and Tricks ~ related to links & media
	Related Pages ~ refer to sections in Advanced Features if necessary

Create and Manage Pages
	Introduction ~ scope & concepts of managing pages and namespaces
	What sort of Page ~ refer to the relevant page on Advanced NameSpaces
	Create a Page
	Delete a Page
	Rename/Move a Page
	Page Aliases
	Shared Page Contents
	Page Cross-references
	Tips and Tricks ~ hidden draft pages, etc
	Related Pages ~ refer to sections in Advanced Features if necessary
Re: Advanced Features
I could argue that these features should be included in the other Page topics above.
They are essentially advanced codes & features that fit as Sections near the end of those Page topics.
Then there would be little or no need for the Related Pages cross-references.
HOWEVER, putting them there might put off newcomers directed to earlier Sections on the same Page.
So I prefer a separate main Page for Advanced Features.
They should all be on one Page as most of them rely on Control Macros and Syntax Plugins that themselves are closely related.

Re: Reference Material
Let's wait and see.
These references might fit under Related Pages in each main Page rather like Tips and Tricks.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 27 Nov 2018 13:34
by ColeValleyGirl
Looks good.

I agree about a separate Main Page for Advanced Features. Also about where Reference Material might site (although it might be a kindness to really advanced users to put it at both levels for speed of access?)

I could make a start on Edit Existing Pages, although I'm not sure I understand enough to do it justice - I'd rather start with Create and Manage Pages.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 27 Nov 2018 14:21
by tatewise
OK, you make a start with the contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Create And Manage Pages and I will start with the contributeyourknowledge:edit_existing_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Edit Existing Pages.

On the contributeyourknowledge:alternative_approach|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Alternative Approach overview, I am tempted to move the links and media topics from the end of the Edit Existing Pages section into a new Edit Links and Media section. Then the underlying Page structure will match the overview Sections, which seems more natural to me.

Also perhaps each of those overview Sections should start with a link to the Introduction on each Page to introduce the scope and concepts of that Page topic?

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 27 Nov 2018 14:25
by ColeValleyGirl
Agree with all that.

Have just started work on another plugin but I will interleave the two tasks.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 28 Nov 2018 15:03
by ColeValleyGirl
Mike, do you want to review contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Create And Manage Pages

There are

* some links to fix as the structure beds down (Simples!)
* some policy questions around getting agreement to altering the top-level namespace Structure
* some things I could not find an answer to in the existing wiki re indices (should our next project be revising wiki navigation -- I'm game if you are :D )
* Miscellaneous questions (should we review the FAQ?)

Would also like to know how you like the way I've handled tips and tricks (integrating them into the most relevant section rather than breaking them out).

I have no idea about the last two sections! Suggest Shared Page Contents belongs firmly on Advanced Features (probably because it has me going: eh? what?) but will attempt Crossreferences when I can find the instructions. (see wiki navigation above :P )

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 22:10
by tatewise
Sorry, I've been distracted by Plugins and other intrusions.

I should be able to review that page over the weekend, and fix the missing/broken bits, etc.
The embedded Tips approach seems OK.

Would you like to review contributeyourknowledge:edit_existing_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Edit Existing Pages.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 02 Dec 2018 15:31
by ColeValleyGirl
Mike, have edited the intro to contributeyourknowledge:edit_existing_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Edit Existing Pages. but not the content, which I'm happy with.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 02 Dec 2018 16:02
by tatewise
I have reviewed the contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Create And Manage Pages which looks generally OK.
  • I've fixed the links, but some may need updating as the structure beds down.
  • Any authorisations should be referred to "the administrators in the Web Site Usage forum" as per the Introduction.
  • Not sure which "indices" you are referring to, but should become clearer after our current review.
  • Reviewing the rest of the Wiki navigation is worth considering, perhaps next year sometime, but I'd like to concentrate on the alphabetic_index|> Knowledge Base Index initially, and then perhaps the FAQ in all the Wiki sections.
  • I've written contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages#shared_page_contents|> Shared Page Contents that are important in the Downloads pages, and actually not too tricky.
  • I've started contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages#update_crossreferences|> Update Crossreferences that was not really covered anywhere before.
  • To clear up your confusion over alphabetic entries for Titles and Index:-
    knowledge_base_titles|> Knowledge Base Titles automatically lists all the Page top level Headlines alphabetically.
    alphabetic_index|> Knowledge Base Index is a reference book style Index reliant on the Subject Index Plugin and {{entry>...}} tags inserted by hand on each Page but needs a Wiki refresh to update new ones.
    A subset for Titles and Index exists in each main section without any extra work.
  • The section headlines need rationalising with respect to the main page links.
    e.g. Is it How to Create a Page or Create Pages, etc...?
Your revision to Edit Existing Pages is generally good, but may need some tiny tweaks.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 03 Dec 2018 11:01
by ColeValleyGirl
Mike,
Reviewing the rest of the Wiki navigation is worth considering, perhaps next year sometime, but I'd like to concentrate on the Knowledge Base > Knowledge Base Index initially, and then perhaps the FAQ in all the Wiki sections.
Happy to eat the elephant a bite at a time.
The section headlines need rationalising with respect to the main page links.
Done
I've written Knowledge Base > Shared Page Contents that are important in the Downloads pages, and actually not too tricky.
I think this still needs work -- at least some cross-references to the section on control macros, otherwise the concept is just hanging in space at this point. (Ditto for the Update CrossReference sections).
Your revision to Edit Existing Pages is generally good, but may need some tiny tweaks.
I don't recall editing this -- I did edit Edit Existing Pages on the Overview page.

Shall I have a go at Links and Media next?

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 03 Dec 2018 11:42
by tatewise
I'll revise Shared Page Contents and Update CrossReference as suggested.

Yes, I meant Edit Existing Pages preamble on the Overview page.

Yes, have a go at Links and Media next.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 03 Dec 2018 12:01
by ColeValleyGirl
Will do -- in between grappling with Unicode and trying to construct a reference page (on another website) of sources of England and Wales records... At least I've now managed to retire GenQuiry (and all the associated vba nightmare) so I can focus on Lua.

How on earth did I fit in a job before I retired 10 years ago?

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 04 Dec 2018 20:55
by tatewise
I've further revised contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages#shared_page_contents|> Shared Page Contents and contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages#update_crossreferences|> Update Crossreferences with better introductions of their purpose and some examples.

Ditto regarding fitting in a job :roll:

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 06 Dec 2018 20:59
by tatewise
I've made a start on the contributeyourknowledge:alternative_approach#expert_features|> Expert Features page (renamed from Advanced Features).
But I've left Advanced Hyperlinks & Advanced Namespaces blank until you've done contributeyourknowledge:alternative_approach#edit_links_and_media|> Edit Links and Media.

Some of the Code Block features that were in Advanced Features I have moved to a new contributeyourknowledge:edit_existing_pages#text_formats|> Text Formats section at the end of Edit Existing Pages because they are quite straightforward and widely used in Plugin Code Snippets, etc.

Also contributeyourknowledge:edit_existing_pages#text_layouts|> Text Layouts has had a number of minor revisions for some useful details I've found lurking in the Wiki wiki:syntax|> Formatting Syntax guide.

I will halt there for the time being, until you have had a chance to catch up and review stuff.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 07 Dec 2018 19:34
by ColeValleyGirl
Mike, have not yet reviewed what you have done, but have constructed Links -- seems long enough to split Media and downloads into another section/page so I have done so. You'll have a view on where the more advanced material towardsthe bottom should sit?

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 07 Dec 2018 20:36
by tatewise
I have had a quick look through and it covers the essentials.
It needs bringing up-to-date in a few cases for some of the examples, but that is easy.
Currently, we don't put **[[...]]** bold asterisks around links, as that is now built into internal links and not needed for external links.
So that hangover from the past can be removed.

Regarding size, the other pages are:
Edit Existing Pages runs to 20 screens worth
Create and Manage Pages is 8 screens, but needs a few tips I'd forgotten about so will get a bit bigger.
Expert Features is already 11 with Advanced Hyperlinks & Advanced Namespaces still to come.

Edit Links is 7, but reduces to 5 if Encrypted Links is moved to Advanced Hyperlinks.
I doubt if Edit Media will be as much as 5 so together they should fit within 10 which is not too big.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 16:52
by ColeValleyGirl
Mike, I've overhauled contributeyourknowledge:edit_links_and_media|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Edit Links and Media and recombined them, although I still think they would benefit from being split out.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 13:17
by tatewise
We can review the overall structure when nearer completion and adjust as necessary so all the pages/sections match whatever criteria we decide upon.

I've gone through contributeyourknowledge:edit_links_and_media|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Edit Links and Media in a bit more detail correcting hyperlink errors, etc. I'll look through again later to ensure it explains everything rationally.

The more significant corrections were:
contributeyourknowledge:edit_links_and_media#links_to_fhug_forums|> Links to FHUG Forums changed V5 Forum to General Forum
Following that there are a couple of Fix Me! broken links! that need investigating
contributeyourknowledge:edit_links_and_media#wiki_backlinks_and_indexes|> Wiki Backlinks and Indexes changed Alphabetic Indexes to Alphabetic Titles
Generally changed hyperlinks to refer to Expert Features and removed redundant prefixes on links, etc.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 14:50
by ColeValleyGirl
Thanks, Mike.

Re
[[doku>]] http://wiki.splitbrain.org/ FIXME broken link!
[[sb>]] http://www.splitbrain.org/go/ FIXME broken link
I'm not convinced they need be there at all -- maybe Expert features (most users won't want to direct anyone there). However, if one of them is needed, should doku> go to https://www.dokuwiki.org/DokuWiki ?

Re the Archive Ancestry have changed the link format: https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/l ... m/2018/12/ instead of http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/FA ... 1161616578

Both changes will need the link shortcut fixing.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 19:40
by tatewise
I misinterpreted the table in Shortcuts to other wikis and Google:
[[doku>]] already is https://www.dokuwiki.org/ and is OK
[[sb>]] is actually https://www.google.com/search?q=&btnl=lucky and is not OK!
Not sure what the For example, [[google>Genealogy]] ⇒ Genealogy adds, and could be deleted.

For the sake of just two table rows [[doku>]] and [[sb>]] (once corrected) might as well stay there.

Yes, the [[fhulist>...]] and [[sb>]] shortcuts need redefining:
[[fhulist>...]] should be https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/l ... tsweb.com/
[[sb>]] should be something based on https://www.splitbrain.org/ but not sure what else.
Maybe Jane can do those?

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 13 Dec 2018 06:57
by ColeValleyGirl
The Google example shows how to use the Google shortcut, and the wp example shows how to use the wikipedia one.

I'd probably loose the Meta Wikipedia one and the splitbrain one as links people will hardly ever use and just leave in the Wikipedia one out of three in the last section on shirtcut links.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 13 Dec 2018 22:43
by tatewise
[Note: to be completed when I can get back in to finish the edits I'd started on the page]
[Note2: For anyone else reading along, Mike has deleted the post this was a response to.]
When you hover your cursor over a Hyperlink it changes to a pointing hand, the Hyperlink becomes underlined, and the Pagename pops up.

If you click on the Hyperlink then the chosen Page opens in the main display pane.
I deliberately left this out -- it's covered by: "The concepts of hyperlinks, images and downloadable files will be familiar to anyone who makes use of the Internet, including this Knowledge Base or FHUG. " -- nobody who is thinking of editing the wiki need this utterly basic Internet user instruction.

Also "A Trace of Hyperlinks to the Pages visited appears in a bar across the top " is nothing to do with editing links and media, it's about navigating and should be in a 'How to use the wiki' section somewhere, not here.

Both elements should be removed; I'll do it as soon as I can edit the page again.
Links within the Knowledge Base
The reference to namespaces leads to contributeyourknowledge:create_and_manage_pages|> Contribute Your Knowledge ~ Create And Manage Pages but there is no mention of links relative to current namespace as explained in https://www.dokuwiki.org/namespaces, e.g. “.” or “.:” or “..” or “..:
As the section talks about creating the links using the Link Wizard (which handles the navigation through the namespace), no -- not covered. If the syntax is more widely useful, it ought to be in the namespace section...?
Should we include animated tutorial https://www.splitbrain.org/blog/2008-11 ... eencast_02?
I'm not the person to ask -- I lost the will to live 1 minute into the video when I hadn't been told anything useful... :P (Probably why I never watch instructional videos -- they're always too long winded/less information dense than a piece of text).

More seriously, if we're going to include videos (and some people will find them very useful), they need to be 'exactly to the point' of the section they're included in or else in a section off on their own -- and we ought to be consistent about making them available throughout.
[*] Other link shortcuts
I've condensed all the shortcuts into one table, so all below Shortcut to Amazon.co.uk is not needed.
What do you think?
Agreed and extraneous material -- should we have a table for the Family Historian shortcut links for consistency?
[*] Alphabetic Titles
Do you now understand the difference between these and the reference book style index?
Not entirely, but we can come back to that if/when we look at the overall navigation features.
Email Address - Encrypted Links
Encrypted Links no longer work because <html> tag is disabled as per contributeyourknowledge:expert_features#embedding_html_code|> Embedding HTML Code, so should probably be removed.
Agreed and deleted
Linking an Image
I don't understand the first sentence - where did that come from?
I wrote it...

Have you tried using the Media Files Popup to link an image via the link options it offers?
Download Links
The %20 feature is not working. Maybe Jane can fix it?
Noted.
Media Manager and Media Files Window
Does this need any screenshots of the two dialogues?[/list]
Again, if we're going to do this we should be consisten -- and think about whay we're providing images. They would have to be sufficiently annotated to add some value.

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 14 Dec 2018 11:28
by tatewise
Not sure what happened then. :?
I did not delete my posting, and Helen's posting is attributed to me :?

Maybe Jane can retrieve my earlier posting?????

Re: Contribute Your Knowledge Improvements

Posted: 14 Dec 2018 11:40
by ColeValleyGirl
How very odd -- however I think all the meat of your positing is still visible in my reply, so think we can move forward? I can't see that you've made any changes while I was locked out of editing the wiki page in question?