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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
<blockquote>alexandra wrote:
> mary wrote:
> Don’t start with a design first.
I slightly disagree here, mary. From working professionally on many projects like this the workflow usually is:- write a concept (=> keyinfos you like to display, a chart here)
- make a [rough] design (extendable)
- decide for the app if you did not already
To get a designed worked out pretty soon, visualizing what you are up to, is always inspiring and kicks the project. Quick feeling of success.
[great sig, mary ROFL :)]</blockquote>
Alexandra I’m afraid I agree with mary. Design should come last. The design basically encuptulates the concept. Without a concept there is no design, just function.
Yiannis
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NeMe | hblack.art | EMAP | A Sea change | Toolkit of Care
I do my best editing after I click on the submit button.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
@Everyone I’m playing catchup in the real world and online with some other projects so I expect to be a little distant from these forums for a few days to a week or so.
Bastian
Excellent work and exciting. I am so glad we have you on board. C.L. <—clapping and whistling for what Bastain has done @
@colak
>anark wrote:
it’d be a three-tiered thing, with the topmost tier showing all the different Efforts: sites, projects, groups, each with a very short description. Click on any of them and you get to the second tier: a more detailed presentation: past achievements, future aims, present state of play, the toys being played with and tools being tooled with, who’s involved in what capacity and who’s in charge of the Effort. Then, clickable from the second tier, the third tier would be bio pages with information on who these people are, what they’re doing, which Efforts they’ve been contributing to, and how they can be contacted.
Not strictly necessary, but maybe an interesting design challenge: the upper two tiers could be done visually, say the top tier as a Map of TextLand with DevCity as the capital and all the other Efforts as cities. The cities, second tier, could be rendered as subway maps, each station representing a contributor, different subway lines representing different aspects of the work done. Fanciful. Whatever.
The concept started here. with a post Anark made. I believe all the info (concept wise) you are looking for is here (in links you’ll have to follow) more or less — it is just spread out on the forum and I agree we (I) need to bring it together into one coherent (hopefully) location on the web which as far a I can tell now will be a wiki page and a new forum thread (which I still need to start).
So how I see it simply is a “directory or table of contents of TXP-related entities as they currently exist on the web” as an XML file which can be imported and visually displayed by “a” technology by which someone available is skilled. [that’s off the top my my head and I will re-write that] And Basitian appears to be that shining example, able to explore and manifest multiple technologies into compliance. I’m excited by what I see.
@everyone
Beyond this, anyone who has a better or more coherent version of this nebulous concept down on paper, bring it on. As far as I can see it’s a map and I have a hundred generic ideas about maps floating around in my head for reference — I just assumed we all did. What Basitian is doing is the most active manifestation of the map that I see. Concepts give direction but coding and visuals bring life. And color is a breath of fresh air in a text-based, code-centric environment like this forum. Hopefully we will balance the two here and not demand that we start with one person’s orientation to a craft versus another’s. Bottom line is that who’s here is who is working on this project. And the project has tons of room to grow. I work in local gov so I’m very familar how too much planning kills and stifles. So again I agree with you all, provisionally.
Edit: Also, concept people. If any of you have a conceptual framework you are suggesting that we follow let us see it. Then maybe we can find someone to provide the answers to the questions you have.
Last edited by neutrino (2006-03-07 01:22:40)
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
I registered us an official project.
If there are any problems with who I included or if you want a specific title or role, let me know. There was some talk elsewhere that at some point we might have private forums here on the TXP boards to discuss things without a lot of drop in traffic. If we do that I think we will need to post back out of the forum some official info periodically so everyone else can keep up. For now it seems an unneccessary layer. Up to the majority tho. Those of you on the project feel free to email me. If you do though let me know what of what you tell me I can share (in a paraphased or bulleted version) with the larger community.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Disclaimer: This is just for fun. It is by no means complete or correct. I just threw in a few people’s sites that I could remember. I was off-line when I did it so I even messed up Destry’s original suggestion of lines . . . anyway, for a little color, a tentative visual.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Neutrino…that’s interesting. I had not considered adding stops for the perso sites of [classification here]. In any case, your nifty chart makes me think of one of my own; I’m going to give it a run for kicks…need a couple of days.
Also, if there are no objections, I would like to get this project established in the wiki, where among other things, we can put all the chart contributions together for easier viewing and comparison. Again, give me a couple days to frame the house.
One last thing so it’s not overlooked: Since mary has made it clear that adding anything new to textpattern.com is pretty much out of the question, I have been thinking the next best place would be textpattern.net (right at the root). See active discussion.
Last edited by Destry (2006-03-07 10:23:32)
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Destry wrote:
Neutrino…that’s interesting. I had not considered adding stops for the perso sites of [classification here]. In any case, your nifty chart makes me think of one of my own; I’m going to give it a run for kicks…need a couple of days.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Yeah, the personal sites I thought of as TextStars, extra active or talented, maybe the top ten or 15 over achievers.
Also, if there are no objections, I would like to get this project established in the wiki, where among other things, we can put all the chart contributions together for easier viewing and comparison. Again, give me a couple days to frame the house.
Very good. That’ll probably be the easiest way to get that concept draft done.
One last thing so it’s not overlooked: Since mary has made it clear that adding anything new to textpattern.com is pretty much out of the question, I have been thinking the next best place would be textpattern.net (right at the root). See active discussion.
I’ve been watching this conversation. It seems only logical to consolidate our efforts. And the dot net site seems like a good pick. There was a suggestion that we consider Textgarden for the mapping project as the map could be based on an outdoor metaphor rather than on subway lines. It’s also been mentioned that we look at other visual metaphors like department stores and museums.
Just food for thought. I’m going to go back to working on the mind map for the time being.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Destry wrote: One last thing so it’s not overlooked: Since mary has made it clear that adding anything new to textpattern.com is pretty much out of the question, I have been thinking the next best place would be textpattern.net (right at the root). See active discussion.
neutrino wrote: There was a suggestion that we consider Textgarden for the mapping project as the map could be based on an outdoor metaphor rather than on subway lines. It’s also been mentioned that we look at other visual metaphors like department stores and museums. … Just food for thought. I’m going to go back to working on the mind map for the time being.
That’s cool. TextGarden works. I guess I missed that along the line. When it’s all said and done, underneath the flash and gloss, I keep thinking of this as a means of finding information easily…a kind of pretty index, I guess, and “books” and “indexes” go hand in hand. In any case, I’m a strong supporter of TextGarden, so that’s fine with me. I just wanted to offer the place (textpattern.net) should it be wanted for the map/index. That’s not a place I would offer many other projects, but a top-level index would be warranted. I think you’re right though, if it goes really graphic or whatever, then textpattern.net is probably not ideal.
I still think we could plan the project though in the wiki. I’ll work on that.
Last edited by Destry (2006-03-07 18:31:36)
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
I have no problem with using TextGarden for this but I should remind you all that it is going to be moved to it’s own server (Sivert) and I understand that this could happen anytime around now, which may lead to a certain amount of “downtime”. I also have the problem that, due to the move, I don’t have full access to certain things such as phpMyAdmin which means that backing-up before making any changes is a no-go at the moment.
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Destry wrote:
I keep thinking of this as a means of finding information easily…a kind of pretty index, I guess, and “books” and “indexes” go hand in hand.
Yes, the information is predominant. That’s why I’ll be concentrating on the map for the time being. In fact a number of us can use the Freemind program to very quicky produce numerous maps and/or edit one another’s. I’ll put together a little primer on using Freemind and delicious together. It’s a great little combo, very fast, no learning curve at all.
Honesty, the end result could be a Freemind map exported as XHTML. The Freemind maps can link to other FM maps. And/or someone could take our “index” and use it as a database for an intense graphic project to host at Textgarden. I do think in keeping in spirit with the TEXTness of Textpattern that a TextTOC at TEXTpattern.net is totally within the realm of this project and one of its major goals. If folks find a way to make this lightly graphical and the powers that be like it, all the better.
All we can do is see what happens as the project evolves. Plato’s horses. :)
I still think we could plan the project though in the wiki. I’ll work on that.
Edit:
@Stuart
I have no problem with using TextGarden for this but I should remind you all that it is going to be moved to it’s own server (Sivert)
Very nice remembrance naming the server Sivert. There’s no rush on our end and no decisions have been made about what the end result will even be. We’re just talking at the moment but it’s good to know that you’re open to the idea. Good luck with the move and feel free to join our discussion.
Last edited by neutrino (2006-03-08 14:35:13)
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
I made some edits to the Project pages in the wiki; they were getting off on the wrong foot. The main project page, here, is now what the “What is this project?” page was trying to do.
Note also that “Working Groups” is now Community Projects in the main TextBook page.
Update your links (if you saved any) accordingly.
Last edited by Destry (2006-03-11 11:26:42)
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
Thanks for that, Destry. I appreciate your organizational skills. And having an editor is such a sweet luxury. ;) I can’t tell you how nice it is to not have to go back and revise.
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Re: [contrib] Project: TXP Subway Map
A few things:
- Link to Textland Freemind Files
Click on the “Help us collect links” for instructions on how to help.
- A Flash version of a Textland Map made with Freemind. Disregard the colors; I’m just getting to know Freemind.
Please click around either the Flash version or the Java version and share your feelings and thoughts. Let me know if either version is giving you trouble.
Last edited by neutrino (2006-03-17 03:02:20)
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