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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I guess I’m still catching up; finding threads of relevance I didn’t know existed…
Eventually, not right away, I could help with migrating topics to the wiki too, but this thread is a tad old, Mary has taken indefinite sabbatical, and so I don’t really know what the aim is currently.
Personally, I follow Mary’s logic and think all documentation-like content should be organized in the wiki (by result, unnecessary forums can be removed for simplifying the forum interface, theoretically). Naturally the wiki needs (and is getting) structural changes but is this content move from forum to wiki still the aim? If not, I won’t bother moving anything.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
thebombsite wrote:
Fair enough, though I still think that the “How to” forum is far more accessible here particularly to new users and anyone doing a search of the forum.
Agreed. Personally it seems a waste of energy to be moving stuff, just open the How-To forum up again and leave it here.
I have referred to the how-to forum time-and-time again over the years…most recently Dale’s post on building a client section.
1 vote for reopening this forum.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
To expand my reasoning for keeping the “How to” forum open:
Certainly for my own part, as a fairly experienced user of TXP, I only really go to Textbook to check out stuff in the tag reference. If I need to work out how to do something I’d rather work it out for myself so I know what I’ve done and why it works. For a new user that method could well be quite daunting and maybe even off-putting so the first place they come to look is the forum. It’s simply the big meeting place where everything is discussed.
That discussion is important because if you look through many of the “How to’s” they start off with someone’s idea of how to do something, then someone else will chip in with a bit of a modification, then someone else etc. etc. so that the original code evolves and becomes more efficient, fewer tags, fewer conditionals, added results. I don’t believe that this kind of evolution will happen if these threads are moved to Textbook.
Now I hear some people saying that this is exactly what a wiki is for and I wouldn’t disagree, but it won’t happen simply because people prefer to come to the forum for discussion. Doesn’t matter a hoot what you say the wiki can or can’t do. If people don’t go there it won’t happen.
Further to that the “How to” forum has now been closed for several months “because it is being moved to Textbook” but I don’t see any movement. In the meantime we have had nowhere to put “How to’s” either in this forum or Textbook. Not a good situation methinks.
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
Stuart,
Well said. I completely agree. Textbook is definitely not friendly to new/non-tech/casual users.
Hell, it can be daunting for experienced users too (read: me). Like you, I generally only use it for the tag reference.
What I don’t understand is the idea of “this stuff belongs in the wiki, so we’re closing this forum until we move it there (someday)”.
If the wiki is truly a better home (I’m still not convinced) that’s great, but leave the existing how-to forum active until such time that everything can be moved in a timely manner.
Leaving things in limbo doesn’t help anyone.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I’m not an enforcer, just a voice like you. And on this matter I honestly don’t care one way or the other. I also don’t have any authority in the forum so I can’t help you there either (in case there was any doubt).
In fact, it seems to me since Mary left there’s been a serious lack of forum management. Posts seem to be in any forum of no relevance, topics are wayward (um…), requests for relocation unanswered by moderators, completely useless search engine (where is that great search tool by wilshire, again?). If things keep up, the forum will be about as useful as the wiki (at the moment).
Last edited by Destry (2008-08-29 13:18:51)
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
There is a ‘report’ button at the bottom-right corner of every post that can be used to report things that are not right. Those reports are handled.
The search engine is crap, but has always been crap as far as I remember, so that’s nothing new.
No need for doomsday scenario’s, I think.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
A yes, report button. What else does one need…besides that great forum search-marklet wilshire one provided once upon a time. Still would like to get that again if anyone knows where to track it.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
The Google advises me to visit this place as the #1 spot. Is that what you were looking for?
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I’ve moved this topic and made it sticky instead of the older topic
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
@wet: Google? What’s that? :) Yep, that would be the one. Thanks.
@ruud: Feels better.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I recently made a short post which I believe would be better placed in the “How to” forum with an appropriate title so people can find it better. This particular post however is not directly concerned with TXP so I don’t believe it is something that should be transferred to Textbook. I think this is another reason for keeping the “How to” forum open.
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I’ve posted a version on that thread too. It’s a different method than thebombsite’s, but still a very useful how-to for those wanting to use the jQuery.cycle plugin. Doesn’t seem to belong in Textbook – but still great info for TXP users.
Is this horse dead? Clear. Hit him with the defibrillator!
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
I think it’s just a bit of a “tease”, allowing me to post to this thread but not the rest of the forum. Maybe they think it will shut me up. ;)
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
Fwiw
I understand why you feel it might not belong in Txbk, but since it is how to use it w/Txp I think it would be useful. Especially if all the IA calls for all How-tos to go there.
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Re: [howto] Discuss closing this forum and moving all relevant posts to TextBook
Stuart, Tom, I agree that those two examples don’t really fit in TextBook.
What if we use this forum to collect howtos and only put a “best of” selection of those howtos in TextBook?
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