Re: Taking a step back for a moment......

[Sai Kiran <ch98086 che iitm ac in>]

> 1. Navigation
> we don't need to plan out elaborate schemas for navigation.  Just a
> simple one that works.  I think that we have basically all agreed that
> we should organize navigation by task.  This makes sense, as this is how
> people want to use websites.  I agree with Shawn Admunsun that we want
> to make the names short and easily scannable.  I also think that it
> should be text-based.  If we want to get fancy, we can do a javascript
> tree expansion type thing so someone can (if they have a browser that
> supports it) get to the page they want right away.  This wouldn't stop
> normal users from getting there in a normal fashion though.
> 
	I really think we should try to avoid JavaScript etc. More so
because this is a technology developed by the browser makers. Please try
looking at a page with pop-up layer based menu in IE 3.0 or something. It
totally destroys the page's look. Even if we decide to do something fancy,
let us try to avoid JavaScript and DHTML. What do people think about a
Java Applet ?

> 2. Software Map
> I think that it would be very nice to have a software map that listed
> gtk apps, gnome apps, and components.  It should be broken down by
> category of software, and each type of app (gtk, gnome, component)
> should be clearly labelled as such (with an icon perhaps).  There should
> be an option to filter by type of app as well, so if someone just wants
> to see components, they can select "show only components" or something
> similar.
> 

	I think we should list components in the developers section rather
than the Software Map. I agree with Sarel that most people searching for
applications might not even lnow what components are. 

>3. Maintenence
> We need to remember that everything that we add to the site, we are
> going to have to maintain.  That means that multiple news sections, or
> anything that requires fresh content will have to be "owned" by someone
> to keep up maintenence.  I've seen a lot of projects fall by the wayside
> for this very reason.
> 
	I agree to every single word. :-)

> 4. Stress Involvement
> We should try and gear the site towards pushing the GNOME platform.  To
> do that well, we need to offer ways for people to get involved.  I
> suggest that we prominently feature a "Projects of the week"
> section.  Basically, it would be a place for new people to get involved,
> by doing a fairly straightforward task.  There could be a listing of
> needed projects broken down by different areas: translation,
> documentation, website, etc.  I am sure that each project under the
> GNOME umbrella has a decent sized list of simple things that the core
> members just don't have time for.  We could post a list, with
> descriptions and contact info for people to browse.  When someone
> completes a task, we post it on a "new developer of the week" section or
> something similar.  Mozilla does this with their "Friends of the tree" -
> this seems like a good community-building technique.
> 
	Sounds like an excellent idea. Probably we should also maintain
some list like "Latest Members of the GNOME family" or something similar
with the list of people who have joined the GNOME project in the last
week. Anyways, I think it's a great idea. 

	Please feel free to disagree with anything I said. 

Sai