User:SeanCJ/Webpage-parts Out-of-date

2023-04-09T16:40:50Z

SeanCJ: Some small things needing updating on the Website

In Markdown cause I'm lazy (and that's how I wrote it up when I did). Plus its not meant for the wiki anyway...

Corrections / Improvements:
================================

https://unvanquished.net/join-us/

--> change to reflect that beta has been released :D !
( and a couple other minor things)

----------------

Beta is out :)
-----------------

* "Pre-alpha began September 2011, and our first alpha release was March 2012. We have made dozens and dozens alpha releases since then, and we expect to reach beta soon."
--> Beta released 2021

* Contact "We are always looking to expand our team, and currently we would like to fill several positions to help bring us closer to beta next year."
--> :P

Other small stuff
----------------------

* Article List:
-->Update a little: Add "10 years of Unvanquished", and probably "Beta Release Blogpost".

* "The team behind Unvanquished is an international one, and developers range from experienced hobbyists to professionals contributing their free time, all of whom are centrally coordinated on our IRC channel and forums."
--> Link to IRC channel (and possibly Forum).

* "Our engine was famous in the Open Source community for its modern features but time is passing and we have to keep up with what people expects from games today."
-->"... expect ..."
(I'd also change to "we *want* to keep up with what people expect .." - but thats just style/preference)

User:SeanCJ

2023-04-09T16:29:43Z

SeanCJ:

Not going to go into details here. (since I'm pretty sure noone else here does either :P).

Setting up a subpage for collecting some important information though:

[[User:SeanCJ/Team_Onboarding_and_Release-processes]]

[[User:SeanCJ/Webpage-parts_Out-of-date]]

Wiki bits:

The [[Main_Page]] could do with some tidying up (eg removing the image clutter at the bottom).

The [[Chat]] page also has some errors / typos: "If these channels are even down we have a backup on QuakeNet:"
--> ... ever ...

User:SeanCJ

2023-04-09T16:28:00Z

SeanCJ: second subpage

User:SeanCJ

2023-04-09T16:26:17Z

SeanCJ: Subpage to get started

Talk:Main Page

2023-04-09T15:21:07Z

SeanCJ: /* Remove the images from the bottom */ new section

==Some stuff==

1) The link to the developement blog is outdated, it is now included on the main page. 2) I maintain the arch linux package so we could set its description to (semi-)official to let people know that they can give feedback on IRC and forums. 3) The Links section could be organized in a table like the Contributing section. — [[User:Viech|Viech]] 14:17, 10 November 2012‎

:I've fixed the first and second issues. As for the third, I've categorized them, but really I think the entire front page needs a redesign. I'm thinking of arranging everything into tables kind of like how Wikipedia does it, but where each table cell would contain information pertinent to a discipline or user group, e.g., "Players", "Artists", "Programmers", "Translators", "Server Admins", etc. Also, please sign your posts with <code><nowiki>&mdash;~~~~</nowiki></code>. :) —[[User:Velociostrich|Velociostrich]] 17:49, 24 February 2013 (CST)

== Updating release information ==

If you would like to update information about the latest release such as the date and version number and all that jazz, do not do so by editing any content page directly: all of that information is stored in the [[Template:Current|Current template]]. Like the main page, you must be an administrator to edit it. It should be pretty self explanatory; just edit it like you would any other page. — [[User:Velociostrich|Velociostrich]] 17:19, 2 March 2013 (CST)

== New front page ==

The old front page had a number of advantages:
* You could access almost any page within one click
* We looked like a very mature wiki
* Project intro for new-comers

It also had some problems:
* Maintainability
** Changes of various pages around the wiki required us to change the headings and links on the front. (double-editing)
** No-one has front-page permissions other than the admins (to avoid defacing)
** The [[Special:MostRevisions|most edited page on the wiki]] is the front-page.
* Choosing what to go on the front was a constant trade-off:
** Too much or too little description for links
** "Have I just broken the table and div model?" after every change

* Organisation
** Hard to find what you are after
** Categorised by roles (Coder, artist, etc). Roles overlap! Artists and normal players were discouraged from even reading the links in the 'Programmers' section.
** What pages should be linked on the front? Who uses what? When is it useful?

I think this new design is a much better idea:
* Front page (rarely changed, except for the gallery)
* 6 category pages (constantly changed, links to all other pages)

=== Front-page categories ===

The category boxes on the front page are floating so they work at all screen resolutions. If we need to add or remove categories it's a cinch (and we don't ruin the formatting of the whole page). Backend-wise the code is much cleaner: just a set of CSS'ed divs.

Each box has a description of what that category is about, but not links to it's exact contents. That way we don't have to change links on the front-page (double-editing) all the time to keep up with other changes in the wiki.

Anyone can edit the category pages. It will be 1000% better if we can keep it this way, we'll have to see.

=== Purposes of the wiki ===

If we recruit new modellers etc we can still send them somewhere relevant: the Making & Modding page (which also has the artist guidelines linked). It's also much more attractive for people to contribute to: they don't think the wiki is as complex nor messy. I'm constantly being asked by people if it's OK to edit the wiki or add a page, and most of all "where should I put it?". This should be self-documenting, not centrally controlled by me.

There is no point having the intro to the game on the wiki. Yes it was well written, but the main site does a better job in three different places:
* [https://unvanquished.net/ unvanquished.net]
* [https://unvanquished.net/about/ unvanquished.net/about]
* [https://unvanquished.net/join-us/ unvanquished.net/join-us]

IMHO the wiki is just a place to share information. When there are better ways than using the wiki, we should use those instead: eg we don't use the wiki as a pastebin, there is many of them usable outside there. The main site is prettier and more controllable 'intro to the project' that is also the first thing people see when they google us. It's rare to end up on the wiki ''before'' the rest of the site, and if someone does there are links in the sidebar.

=== Why I've decided to roll this change in ===
I think this is the best way for everyone to try it and and give fair feedback:
* Long-termers are not going to like change. "The old one wasn't broken" and "I knew where everything was" etc (I'm talking about ''you!'' :D)
* If I just ask for comments for a separate page, I won't ever get a definitive 'yes' or 'no'
* If everyone is subjected to the new design (we can always go back) for a week or so, their opinions will be more thorough and balanced.

I honestly think this new page is in both the interests of you and the project. All discussion is encouraged, and since it's a new design flaws are likely to crop-up.

== Remove the images from the bottom ==

The images at the bottom of the page felt like adverts / didn't look nice when I first had scrolled down a bit.

I don't see that they are helping in any way ?

P.S. I'd be happy to get edit rights for this protected page, or alternatively, have protection removed (since I guess its not so busy anymore? Don't know if there are issues with botspam perhaps though... ).

Regards [[User:SeanCJ|SeanCJ]] ([[User talk:SeanCJ|talk]]) 10:21, 9 April 2023 (CDT)

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User:SeanCJ/Webpage-parts Out-of-date

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Talk:Main Page