On Tue, 2005-12-13 at 10:03 +0000, Thomas Wood wrote: > > The problem is finding the point between irrelevant and empty. We need it > > to > > look like something is constantly going on at GNOME.org yet I don't want > > the > > home to be cluttered and unapproachable to a new user. > > I will fiddle around with adding some news from gnomedesktop.org and try > > to > > fill up some space or maybe add the 'Buy a GNOME shirt' in there to give > > the > > page a sense of community. > > > > This is why I would suggest we had a couple of small boxes on the front > page with the latest headlines from footnotes, the latest art from > art.gnome.org or the latest software updates. This would help to give the > site a sense of community and activity. However, this raises a very > important point, as it will be difficult (although not impossible) to do > this without any scripting on w.g.o. > > What is the current sysadmin position with regards to the use of scripts > on w.g.o?
We avoid scripting (server-side and client-side) for security and compatibility concerns. A case can be made for scripting. cosmetics is not a reason to introduce scripting. Visitors who exchange URLs, or are reading instructions to access information are frustrated when each person sees a different view of a page. Commerce and support sites risk driving away the visitors they are trying to serve. The GNOME homepage is difficult to design because it gateway to other sites that address the needs of a diverse group of visitors. I think we need to be asking what kinds of visitors are arriving at the GNOME homepage? What do these visitors need to accomplish? What does the homepage need to communicate to help the visitors complete their task? What browsers or tools do the visitors during their sessions on the website? I have seen many efforts to revamp the homepage fail. I think they failed because they did not focus on what GNOME has to do at it's homepage. On a related matter, search engines and related content have deep links into our sites. Visitors need to know the focus of the page, the section, and the site from any page. The page must convey what can be accomplished from the page, and provide links to related matters. In short, every page must establish a context so the visitor knows who needs this information, and where to find more information. Design is a lot easier when you have certainties you can test for. GTK has supports themes to address usability and accessibility concerns as well as aesthetics. So to address the scripting question, some users may be better served by client-side or server-side scripting--how can we know we need it? How do know our solution satisfies the one visitor without alienating another? -- __C U R T I S C. H O V E Y____________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Guilty of stealing everything I am. _______________________________________________ gnome-web-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-web-list
