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Re: txp mentions
gaekwad wrote #329427:
Front page of Hacker News right now.
Sweet! We really do need to write more. The offer still stands to anyone in the community who wants to write anything about Txp as a guest post, please just send it over and we’ll make it happen. Good content works.
back of napkin maths indicates we’re serving ~3 to 5 thousand visitors an hour at the moment. Server CPU averaging about 9% usage, I’m very happy with the overall stability and performance.
Woohoo! The shiny new DigitalOcean server is earning its keep. I need to get me one of those AMD thingies.
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Re: txp mentions
zero wrote #329412:
good ol’ Textpattern gets a mention and a screenshot in this article about Going Headless.
Maybe someone should post a comment on that article noting the ‘good ol’ Textpattern’ is still going strong (and a link to homepage). Easy win for a few more hits. Play the game!
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Re: txp mentions
philwareham wrote #329432:
Maybe someone should post a comment on that article noting the ‘good ol’ Textpattern’ is still going strong (and a link to homepage). Easy win for a few more hits. Play the game!
Done. Awaiting moderation.
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Re: txp mentions
gaekwad wrote #329427:
Ten thousand reasons to use Textpattern
Front page of Hacker News right now.
Server traffic back to normal levels. Nothing broke. That was a fun day for watching log files and graphs!
philwareham wrote #329432:
Maybe someone should post a comment on that article noting the ‘good ol’ Textpattern’ is still going strong (and a link to homepage). Easy win for a few more hits. Play the game!
Now live!
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Re: txp mentions
I’m not very good at the code side, but happy to write something. I’m a writer by trade.
Or indeed, to record a screen-share video (series?) as somebody better at the Txp helps me to set up simple site and walk through the essentials. Could possibly be useful to new visitors.
I’ve done quite a few of those kinds of videos elsewhere, on other topics, and I do like Textpattern.
Anyway, just an idea.
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Re: txp mentions
John-Paul F wrote #329459:
Happy to write something. I’m a writer by trade. Or indeed, to record a screen-share video (series?)
Yes please! Browse the stuff we’ve posted and by all means if you have anything to add about the platform that’ll help newcomers or evangelise us or notes on your experience, features you loved, or tutorials etc, we’ll find a place to publish them.
If you ever want to bounce ideas around first on topics, by all means reach out to one of us. Entirely up to you. As you may have noticed, being a small team means we love offers of assistance like this. Thank you in advance!
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Re: txp mentions
Bloke wrote #329460:
Yes please! Browse the stuff we’ve posted and by all means if you have anything to add about the platform that’ll help newcomers or evangelise us or notes on your experience, features you loved, or tutorials etc, we’ll find a place to publish them.
My first thought is that the forum could possibly do with a prominent “Hello, if you’re new start here…”
My own feeling as somebody new to the forum (though not to Txp) is that I don’t know where to start.
I hesitate to post anything anywhere because I suspect there’s an answer somewhere, if only I spend time looking for it – and then I feel overwhelmed, and give up.
(I do realise that this is all voluntary and don’t want to make unnecessary work for others.)
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Re: txp mentions
John-Paul F wrote #329461:
My first thought is that the forum could possibly do with a prominent “Hello, if you’re new start here…”
You mean like the Get Started link in the pole position of the universal navigation?
My own feeling as somebody new to the forum (though not to Txp) is that I don’t know where to start.
Understood.
Allow me a couple of thoughts on it. I’ve been thinking about this stuff since day 1 of my tenure.
The first question that probably needs asked is, what is the goal behind starting? And from there, what should be the expected entry point for getting the info needed for said goal?
This all swirls around the old chestnut of the forum trying be and do more than it should. The way I see it, the forum serves the following important roles, in this order:
- Social watering hole (general info, latest happenings, news/announcement, end of the world, etc.)
- Plugin support (there really is no other way to get help with plugins)
- Q/A (how, troubleshooting, etc — but only because solution info is not written up in a more appropriate place yet)
Let’s look at some common/possible goals/tasks and what the top conventional (and presumably intuitive) entry points would be:
| Goals/Tasks | Entry point 1 | Entry point 2 |
|---|---|---|
| I heard about Textpattern and want to read more about it. | Main | Main/about |
| I like what I’m reading, where do I download this mutha? | Main | Main/start |
| Well, I can’t log in. Halp! | Forum | |
| I need a plugin. | Plugins | Forum |
| I want to develop a plugin. | Docs | Forum (for support) |
| I want a theme. | Themes | |
| Crap, there are no themes. I want to make a theme. | Docs | Forum (support) |
| What’s a shortcode? | Docs | Tags |
| How do I make thing 1 do this and thing 2 do that? Q/A | Docs | Forum/how? |
Et cetera, et cetera. So, when there are so many possible entry points, each better suited to some needs over others, where should the ‘Get Started’ tourist flag be planted? Pole position in the universal navigation seems like the ideal spot, alongside all the other main entry point links.
Then focus of the investigation shifts to whether content at those landing places is answering the right possible questions people bring with them. There we might find room for improvement.
As for all the little how do I do this questions and stuff, like the last row in the table implies, the forum always ends up answering these kinds of questions over and over and over and over, which is not only a waste of time and effort, but it does nothing for centralizing and curating the best response(s) to a place where they are easier found and pointed to.
I suspect the problem is as much lazy habit as it is IA and information availability. I’d wager this is a common scenario when someone has a general question about doing something: 1) skip docs entirely, 2) maybe do a forum search, but if what they seek is not in page 1 of results, that’s it, so 3) time to post a new How? question.
Everybody hates documentation, it seems, whether reading or writing it. I know. But everyone needs to write more documentation, for the stable docs, not the quicksand forum. The more doc gaps filled, the easier it is to direct people to them instead of reinvent the wheel.
In my humble opinion, being that Textpattern’s tag language is at the center of what everyone eventually gets to, that’s where more documentation provides the biggest payback. If a video series can be produced that teaches tag theory and whatnot, great. Let that be part of the docs.
Likewise, helpful documentation does not always fit within the scope of the Txp docs platform (e.g. tips, tutorials, etc.). These kinds of things might sit better in Textpattern Tips, or even at the blogs of individuals. In that case, Txp Docs should be linking out to those choice works in context of related information; tag pages seem especially relevant here.
Last edited by Destry (2021-03-25 13:57:01)
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Re: txp mentions
Bloke wrote #327847:
Nice one, thank you Sir.
A lot of good that message did. Straight to the trash, probably. Oh, well. I didn’t get the style guide out yet either. :/
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Re: txp mentions
Destry wrote #329462:
As for all the little how do I do this questions and stuff, like the last row in the table implies, the forum always ends up answering these kinds of questions over and over and over and over, which is not only a waste of time and effort, but it does nothing for centralizing and curating the best response(s) to a place where they are easier found and pointed to.
Many valid points, but I can not fully agree that answering questions over and over again is always a waste of time. Textpattern evolves, and questions get new and better answers. If everyone just exhumed ten years old answers from the forum or the docs, a large part of txp progress would be vain.
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Re: txp mentions
Destry thank you. You’re right that it’s there, and very prominent, and you’re right that it doesn’t somehow give me enough.
etc, I agree – most of the answers I’ve found by looking around seem to be over a decade old, and I have no confidence that they will even work, so I don’t use them.
I’ve got a lot to learn, so I’ll keep trying, and I’ll filter searches by date…
Does anybody know if there’s some kind of (decent) course in “How To Use Textpattern” anywhere?
Last edited by John-Paul F (2021-03-26 09:02:54)
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Re: txp mentions
John-Paul F wrote #329466:
Does anybody know if there’s some kind of (decent) course in “How To Use Textpattern” anywhere?
None that I know of in course format, no. The broad strokes appraisal is that we’re a relatively small community of enthusiasts, which brings an element of knowing how to find solutions from all the places we maintain, but the going can be slow for new things since many of the people involved are juggling work, life, home, and so forth.
I’ve been guilty of initiatives in the past that haven’t got traction because I haven’t committed, found, or made the time and brain cycles to get them off the ground properly. Invariably any project needs a cheerleader and sufficient person-power behind it to get traction, and in my case I get caught out by real life getting in the way.
That said, I am curious what your (J-P) demographic wants from a course, since everyone is different, and one person’s method of using Textpattern may be wildly different to another person’s approach.
At whatever granularity level you’re comfortable with, what’s on your shopping list? You’ve mentioned a gallery theme, what else would be useful? No right or wrong answers. You’re a useful person since you don’t spend much time here, so a fresh perspective is handy.
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Re: txp mentions
Thanks Pete. I totally get that about cheerleading and energy, and about the small team juggling a lot.
- I posted this in the forum describing what my demographic might like from Txp
- And a suggestion re upvoting posts in this forum
Last edited by John-Paul F (2021-03-26 11:54:09)
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Re: txp mentions
etc wrote #329465:
I can not fully agree that answering questions over and over again is always a waste of time.
If you like to do it, it’s certainly not. And when the help isn’t anywhere else, it’s certainly needed. And addressing the immediate one-off needs of enquirers will always be necessary. I am often one of those in need, but neither do tag docs always deliver where they could and should.
Textpattern evolves, and questions get new and better answers.
No doubt. But what I mean is, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a single URL for a given topic, and the page is curated, in one place, against the evolution of the software, and taking into account the nuances and different ways the topic can be relevant or applied to a help situation. Rhetorical.
Not unlike a wiki is meant for, in fact, or a documentation site under version control.
If everyone just exhumed ten years old answers from the forum or the docs, a large part of txp progress would be vain.
I’m not sure I understand you there, but no elaboration necessary.
I’m not saying the forum will never be needed, or that no help should ever be given here. Preposterous! I’m simply saying not every egg belongs in this basket.
Plus it’s worth thinking ahead. What happens when those knowledgable few, who write elaborate forum responses, leave the community? (Eventually everyone does.) How do you capture that knowledge effectively? In the shifting forum sands?
It’s funny we still have the same docs/support conversations after 18 years. Must be the nature of it.
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Re: txp mentions
Destry wrote #329498:
No doubt. But what I mean is, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a single URL for a given topic, and the page is curated, in one place, against the evolution of the software, and taking into account the nuances and different ways the topic can be relevant or applied to a help situation. Rhetorical.
No doubt, but the forum (including recurrent questions) plays an important role here, imo.
Take this example: forum.textpattern.com/viewtopic.php?id=38541. The question is answered, catalogued and assigned an URL. Fine. Someone having the same question finds the link and does not bother the forum with this question again. Fine? Nope, because meanwhile breakby attribute has evolved and the problem can be solved very easily.
One can ask why nobody has updated the topic? Because we have forgotten about it. I actually did, but forgot about it too.
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