Recent statistics of the downloads on dlang.org suggest that D
may have thousands of active users who keep up to date on the
latest releases of DMD. However, there are many who simply don't
participate in the community here. As such, they may be unaware
of certain resources, such as the forums, wiki, DUB registry, and
bug tracker.
I'm unaware of any statistics for how many downloads are for
specific packages or which OS, but I'm willing to bet that a
large number of people download the Windows installer. As it
stands now, the installer only offers a few "extras" being Visual
D, DMC, and D1. It doesn't even provide a link to the dlang.org
homepage. I feel there is an opportunity here to connect these
people to some additional resources such as those I mentioned
above and others. There are a few ways we can incorporate this
into the installer:
* On the post-install screen, provide a few links here.
* Add start menu shortcuts to these things.
* Many installers open a webpage after installation is complete.
This could be an option on the post-install screen.
What do you all think? There is some work to be done in making it
easier for users to discover these resources, especially in terms
of redesigning the website. I think modifying the installer is an
extra step in that direction.
