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#1 2006-08-07 17:21:22
- chad
- Member
- Registered: 2006-08-06
- Posts: 12
[wiki] Automate the Textbook registration process
The reason that the Textbook registration process is not automated is because of wiki spam. I understand that.
It is not a good enough reason to keep things the way they are.
I care much more about textpattern than about wikipedia, yet I have a wikipedia account and I don’t have a textbook account. I really don’t want to go out of my way to register for something. The current system CLEARLY requires someone to go out of their way. And I’m willing to go out of my way to a certain extext; I’m writing this post after all.
A CAPTCHA usually works pretty well. I think that’s pretty common knowledge among webdevs, and has been considered and rejected, so we can take it a step further. A registration form on the wiki (with CAPTCHA) could simply send an email to Destry (or whoever) rather than going through the gears of the wiki automatically.
I created a working form, with error checking, that represents what I think should be done. The CAPTCHA is faked, but other than that it’s fully functional.
http://northportsevs.com/misc/forms/textbook-reg.html
http://northportsevs.com/misc/forms/textbook-reg.zip (all supporting files zipped up)
Combining the registration of the forum and the wiki into one event would be the best possible scenario, but I’ll cede that at this point it might be more difficult to achieve than is worthwhile.
The current system is bad, it only serves to keep people who are otherwise willing to help from doing so. Get people in the door painlessly, or they’ll just go somewhere else.
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Re: [wiki] Automate the Textbook registration process
The current changes in the forum due to spammers does make this process more of pain then it used to be. All that was needed before was using the forum mailer to send an email which contained all teh info necessary to create an account.
Shoving is the answer – pusher robot
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Re: [wiki] Automate the Textbook registration process
Chad if you foolow the instructions now which point to my forum profile page does it still seem too hard. I reset my settings so that I can be emailed from the profile page.
Shoving is the answer – pusher robot
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#4 2006-08-08 02:38:48
- chad
- Member
- Registered: 2006-08-06
- Posts: 12
Re: [wiki] Automate the Textbook registration process
I’m capable of visiting a web page and sending an email; anyone who can install textpattern is capable of doing that. I could also write my own cms, but, this is the important part, it’s not worth it. If someone is interested in contributing to the wiki, but finds out that it’s a hassle to even join, they’re likely to think that the whole thing is poorly managed and not even worth their time. If people decide that it’s not worth it to join the wiki, textpattern & the community are losing out.
You’re using forum software and not just telling people to subscribe to a usenet group, so I know that there’s already some consideration of the user experience. This is a last 10% issue. Everyone knows the last 10% takes just as much work as the first 90%, but it’s what makes something great instead of just good.
This is a philisohpical issue. I think the best way to attract users is to offer something that feels complete. The reason 37 Signals & Ruby on Rails are doing so well is not because they are so much better than the alternatives, it’s because they have a user-centric approach. Their websites makes sense, it’s not just some sourceforge garbage with a link to an SVN repository. Just look at those sites, my mom could understand them. I think the form I proposed – and did the work for already – is better and more user-centric than a link to a forum profile page.
The choice is yours.
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Re: [wiki] Automate the Textbook registration process
How is clicking a link in a profile page and sending me a message saying “hey I’d like a textbook account” a hassle, but filling out a 9 question form which includes a captcha (I’m not even getting into the usability arguments about that) not a hassle?
Accounts are normally created within hours of being requested and only have to be requested once. And you get to establish a line of communication with someone involved in the community at the same time.
Also the process is to contact an LGT or me. Your form already does not account for that distinction. If you want to contribute to the French Documentation you are supposed to contact Jeremie not me.
The forum form has a few advantages to a distinct form in Textbook.
- I don’t have to write and maintain a mailing script
- I know that anyone that has sent me a request actually has a forum account since they can’t send me a request without first having a forum account. This way I don’t have to add another step to adding accounts of checking if the requests come from valid community members.
There is no way to completely automate it and keep it spam free. Less time for someone to create an account is more time we all have to spend policing the wiki for spam.
Plus from every discussion in this forum the biggest barrier to entry for Textbook is the fact that it’s a wiki, and people don’t want to learn wiki syntax.
I’m not dismissing your idea but I am not seeing a compelling argument for the larger maintenance required to implement your idea. Throwing 37 signal and Rails out does not an argument make.
Feel free to convince me otherwise.
Shoving is the answer – pusher robot
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