Re: New set of comps.

["digitect" <digitect mindspring com>]

Mind if I test some specific existing content in Ryan's structure? Tell
me if I guess wrong (comments below).

 About
 --> Screenshots
 --> Press Kit
*     > Sound Bytes
*        - "Open Source Movement", NPR (8:12) [2 August 2000. Comments
by Eric Raymond, Will Grosman (sp?), Miguel deIcaza, Nat Friedman]
(http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnps05fm.cfm?SegID=80235)
*        - "Linux Rises", NPR (4:30) [Brief comments by Andy Hertzfeld,
co-founder of Eazel, maker of the Nautilus interface for GNOME. 16
August 2000.]
 --> FAQ
 --> Contributors
*--> Site Map

 Community
 --> Support
 --> GNOME Roadmap
 --> Project of the Week
 --> Developer Interviews
(http://www.gnome.org/developerinterviews/index.html)
*    > Featured Columnest (http://developer.gnome.org/feature/)
 --> Mailing Lists

 Development
* Contributing (http://developer.gnome.org/helping/)
 --> Tutorials
 --> Whitepapers
*     > GNOME Developer FAQ (http://developer.gnome.org/doc/FAQ/html/)
 --> API Reference
*     > Developer\Architecture (http://developer.gnome.org/arch/)
*     > Tools (http://developer.gnome.org/tools/)
 --> CVS

 Foundation
 --> Charter
 --> Meeting Minutes
 --> Board Members
 --> Advisory Board
 --> Membership

 Projects
 --> Localization
 --> Documentation
 --> UI Improvement
 --> Icons
 --> Sound
*--> Office (http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/)
*--> Links (http://developer.gnome.org/links/)
*     > Pango (http://www.pango.org/)
*     > Guile (http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/guile.html)

 Software
 --> Application List
 --> Bugzilla
 --> Download

 News
 --> Events
 --> Headlines
 --> Recent Software


I guess I still see two hazy spots:

1.  There is a good deal of developer type content lurking outside of
the Developer section. Examples would be the entire Projects section,
most of Community, bits of Software, and 80 percent of News.

2.  There is no specific section where I can go as an end user. Where
does the GNOME User's Guide go?


Proposed solutions:

1.  Include Projects and Community under Developer and use the extra
space for...

2.  A separate section:

 User ("Using GNOME"? "End User"? "Beginner"? "GNOME for Dummies"?)
 --> GNOME User's Guide
(http://www.labs.redhat.com/gug/users-guide/index.html)
 --> Off-site helps (http://www.linuxnewbie.org/)
 --> Support (http://www.gnome.org/commsupp.html) - Need content
explaining how Free Software works, why it's Free, etc.
 --> Interests - Links to stuff like www.themes.org


Ok, so I believe the existing GNOME site and the proposed structure
favors developers too much. Users end up being leftovers.

That is an inevitiable bias given our history to date. I bet there are
very few current GNOME users who aren't handy at the command line. But
don't you think this will probably change pretty drastically before the
next site re-work?

Maybe we drop this responsibility off to folks like Ximian and both my
concerns go away; we acknowledge that the GNOME site's main focus is
towards developers.

But I think that using the extra billboard space in the top navigation
bar for a distinct user section is a helpful move in advocating GNOME.
And since I'm voicing the opinion, I'd volunteer to develop that section
with whoever else on the list is interested.


Steve  [ digitect mindspring com ]
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