[fpc-other] Re: fpc-other Digest, Vol 61, Issue 2

[Cephas Atheos]

>Out of curiosity: what problems ("mines" ;) ) do you see in the current
>pages aside from broken links here and there (though they aren't that
>much, at least on the wiki...)?
>
>Regards,
>Sven

There are actually quite a few problems, from a new user's perspective.

In terms of difficulties with working processes, I'd have to say finding
what problems there have been and what answers have been provided, there
are two major issues.

First, the broken main page search engine is a definite showstopper. This
is evidenced by some of the question on the lazarus forums, where new
users ask for assistance because they can't find answers from the first
search box they're presented with on the main fpc page.

Second, the links at the top don't work with some of the most popular
browser clients (chrome is a real problem in this regard, especially with
the bug list navigation; most likely a chrome problem, but not that
obvious to users unfamiliar with browser differences).

Finally, the page-by-page layout of the different "forums" (mailing lists)
is archaic and confusing. In a fairly typical sample of TAFE software
students, none could see how to easily find topics or categories, and only
a few persisted long enough to find any topics of interest to them. When
it was pointed out that there was an archive link at the bottom of the
page, the response was "so? It's not part of the site". Admittedly, these
were pretty young kids, but these are fairly typical 15-to-18 year old
wannabe programmers and they find the site confusing and yet bare.

The dead links wouldn't be such a big deal if there was only one or two;
but depending on which page you're on, anywhere from four to nine dead
links gives a very bad impression.

Comparing fpc with the lazarus site, which is still nice and simple, but
with a clear focus on current activities, faqs, and links that (mostly)
work, is about the fairest comparison I can give.

Obviously, people are different; and there are plenty of forums (and
hundreds of news server groups, and thousands of mailing lists) that look
and feel dead; but that's a reflection of the community, not the software!
Judging by the activity on the Lazarus site, business is booming; looking
at the fpc site, it really does look dead, especially when you navigate to
the community pages and see some of the dates and version numbers quoted.
And there's absolutely no indication there of how busy the mailing list
here is! On the first page you see, the top three questions are dated (if
you bother to click on the links) between two and five years ago!

Even the very first page people see has news dated to more than five
months ago, with no way of seeing what's happening right now. That's
actually a little scary, you know! It makes it seem as though there are a
couple of caretakers putting up news items, but everyone else has gone
home. I'm sure that's far from the truth, just based on how many fpc
questions are visible in the lazarus forums!

So some of this is to do with simple perception - if people see dates that
are today (or at least, in the last week or month), they're far more
likely to post a question or sign up, than if they have no idea at all, or
see dates from when they were in school!

I hope this gives some perspective on where I'm coming from, and maybe
some ideas for simple things that could be done to liven the place up a
little! Even maybe a list of the most recent answered questions could give
some idea that this is a great little community, with plenty of knowledge
and skills, and lots and lots of passion.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, and talking through my rectum, and
if that's the case, then I must apologise profusely! Hopefully I'm notŠ :)

Cheers,
Pete