2012-01-01, 13:57
Pseudo7, I completely agree with both of your points. My point was only to demonstrate some keys areas that needed some framework tweaks (search) and collaborative tweaks (instructional templates, for example) to make the entire wiki more streamlined and unified. As you say though, time is limited and that really is the overriding factor of any significant changes that can be made to a project of this scale.
Ned, that all sounds really, really, good. I didn't have any ground breaking suggestions there and I assumed most of it was at least considered at some point or another, but I thought it might be helpful for everyone to have kind of a documented list of things that are problematic in a general sense.
It's ironic that you mentioned the add-on devs being included because that is one of the things that I had intended to mention and it slipped through the cracks between when I started writing that and finished writing it. I think it would be extremely helpful for the wiki, the add-on devs, AND the community if these add-ons (particularly skins and add-ons from the default repository) had their own pages that essentially contained all of the info the devs typically put in the first post (or first few posts) in their forum threads. Rather than continuing to do that, they can instead simply have a support thread (linked from the wiki page, as you mentioned). The added bonus is that it will drive more wiki traffic, introduce more users to the wiki, and make people more comfortable with the wiki as a source of first line support. Over time, users will learn to just check the wiki for new add-ons or updates on existing add-ons. I, for one, would much prefer a consolidated list of add-ons to browsing through the add-ons forum.
One thing that I see a LOT of in this community is people that are not that technical or lacking any kind of coding skills making comments like "If there is any kind of help that I can offer with my limited skills...." to many of the add-on devs. Well, THIS is exactly the kind of thing that those types of users can help with. Your idea for skin-specific instructions, for example, is something that any moderately capable XBMC user can help out with which helps XBMC but also helps the specific skin designers avoid many common support issues.
Once instructions have been set up with the Confluence skin (or whatever the default skin may be at the time), a simple request to other skin users to duplicate these instructions with their skin of choice could make this a very easy goal to accomplish. I'd be willing to bet that there is at least one user of each skin at any given time that would be willing to blow 20 minutes of their time adjusting the confluence instructions to their preferred skin if they know that this is a goal you are trying to reach.
Really, I think all of your ideas are great ones and some day it will lead to a fantastic wiki. The only "problem" with any of the ideas (yours, mine, anyone's) is it takes a heck of a lot less time to come up with ideas than it does to implement them. The idea of a a good set of guidelines for the community on how to contribute to the wiki is a great idea. It opens up the door for those that want to contribute without any need for strong technical expertise, and greatly reduces the workload. It's a lot easier to edit a wiki page written (in English) by someone that has maybe speaks another language, primarily, or poor grammar/spelling than it is to write one from the ground up--so even "lazy" contributors have a way to contribute in a very positive and beneficial way.
Obviously the key to significant change on a large scale in a faster time frame is to engage and employ the community. I think you are doing a lot to try and make that happen, and the more user friendly the wiki is to use for support, the more it will entice users to contribute to the wiki-- just as they do the forums.
And I am bordering on ranting again. I should probably stop posting right before bed.
Ned, that all sounds really, really, good. I didn't have any ground breaking suggestions there and I assumed most of it was at least considered at some point or another, but I thought it might be helpful for everyone to have kind of a documented list of things that are problematic in a general sense.
It's ironic that you mentioned the add-on devs being included because that is one of the things that I had intended to mention and it slipped through the cracks between when I started writing that and finished writing it. I think it would be extremely helpful for the wiki, the add-on devs, AND the community if these add-ons (particularly skins and add-ons from the default repository) had their own pages that essentially contained all of the info the devs typically put in the first post (or first few posts) in their forum threads. Rather than continuing to do that, they can instead simply have a support thread (linked from the wiki page, as you mentioned). The added bonus is that it will drive more wiki traffic, introduce more users to the wiki, and make people more comfortable with the wiki as a source of first line support. Over time, users will learn to just check the wiki for new add-ons or updates on existing add-ons. I, for one, would much prefer a consolidated list of add-ons to browsing through the add-ons forum.
One thing that I see a LOT of in this community is people that are not that technical or lacking any kind of coding skills making comments like "If there is any kind of help that I can offer with my limited skills...." to many of the add-on devs. Well, THIS is exactly the kind of thing that those types of users can help with. Your idea for skin-specific instructions, for example, is something that any moderately capable XBMC user can help out with which helps XBMC but also helps the specific skin designers avoid many common support issues.
Once instructions have been set up with the Confluence skin (or whatever the default skin may be at the time), a simple request to other skin users to duplicate these instructions with their skin of choice could make this a very easy goal to accomplish. I'd be willing to bet that there is at least one user of each skin at any given time that would be willing to blow 20 minutes of their time adjusting the confluence instructions to their preferred skin if they know that this is a goal you are trying to reach.
Really, I think all of your ideas are great ones and some day it will lead to a fantastic wiki. The only "problem" with any of the ideas (yours, mine, anyone's) is it takes a heck of a lot less time to come up with ideas than it does to implement them. The idea of a a good set of guidelines for the community on how to contribute to the wiki is a great idea. It opens up the door for those that want to contribute without any need for strong technical expertise, and greatly reduces the workload. It's a lot easier to edit a wiki page written (in English) by someone that has maybe speaks another language, primarily, or poor grammar/spelling than it is to write one from the ground up--so even "lazy" contributors have a way to contribute in a very positive and beneficial way.
Obviously the key to significant change on a large scale in a faster time frame is to engage and employ the community. I think you are doing a lot to try and make that happen, and the more user friendly the wiki is to use for support, the more it will entice users to contribute to the wiki-- just as they do the forums.
And I am bordering on ranting again. I should probably stop posting right before bed.
