fantasai wrote:
>...
> At any rate, if you have a better plan, or any specific improvements,
> do post. One can only work with so much abstraction.
>...
Ok. My grand plan, which I did back in August, is at
<http://critique.net.nz/project/mozilla.org/mozilla-org.jpg>.
For purposes of threaded discussion, here's the text from that scan
(with some expansion).
mozilla.org redesign
--------------------
requirements:
* attract developers
* make it easier to find information
* provide for easier maintenance and addition of documentation
* be more attractive as the default home page for Mozilla users
* make project status and progress more obvious
information architecture:
* about the project
- who we are
- mission
- FAQs
- sponsors
* news and events
- status updates
- newsgroup summaries
o modelled on `Kernel Cousins' <http://kt.linuxcare.com/>
o could eventually replace the status updates, encouraging
developers to post interesting status in the newsgroups for
discussion (rather than saying `here's what I did this week')
- press releases
- developer meetings
- parties
* developer info
- Mozilla development
o code architecture overviews
o ports
o accessibility
o usability
o internationalization
o localizations
o good coding style
- application development
o XP Toolkit
o XUL reference
o embedding
- Web development
o supported standards
o articles on cool ways to use the standards
- tools
o Bugzilla
o Bonsai
o LXR
o Tinderbox
* software [I agree with Fantasai that this should be a separate area]
- Mozilla
o download
o feature summaries
o release notes
- Bugzilla
o download
o installation instructions
o release notes
- Bonsai
o download
o installation instructions
o release notes
- LXR [ditto]
- Tinderbox [ditto]
* support
- Mozilla Update (detect Mozilla version, and offer upgrades)
- language packs
- FAQs
- links to Usenet groups and IRC channels
* get involved
- quality assurance
o how to report bugs
o how to find duplicates
- advocacy guides
- hacking
o downloading source
o getting CVS access
o building the Lizard
- writing documentation
o style guides
o list of missing documentation
o localizing mozilla.org
- sponsorship
general page contents:
* link to home page
* link to ancestor section
* form for searching ancestor section (and link to advanced search)
* breadcrumb navigation
* links to subcategories
* content
* translation bar (for showing translations of current page)
* boilerplate footer.
Most of the page contents needs to be dynamically generated. Trying to
do stuff like navigation and subcategory links statically is too tedious
and error-prone -- with the result that the current site offers terrible
navigation, other than a context-insensitive `wrapper' which is like
offering a map of the world to someone who's trying to find their way
around a suburb.
maintenance:
* contents, subcategories, etc for each page stored in a database
* registered users (e.g. developers) can make annotations to pages from
within their Web browser, like they can on <http://php.net/manual/>
(allowing for far faster and easier updating of pages by busy people)
* mozilla.org editors can incorporate annotations into the text of the
page in the next revision
* aesthetics of site should change every ~12 months, but navigation
layout should generally stay the same
meta-qualities:
* compliant XHTML and CSS (no TABLEs required, except for tabular stuff)
* URL as UI <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990321.html>
- clear URL hierarchy (avoid meaningless levels like `docs/')
- don't include meaningless stuff like `.html', `.php3', or `www.' in
links
- persistent redirects from old URLs to their new locations, where
URLs need to be changed in order to make them more obvious.
--
Matthew `mpt' Thomas, Mozilla user interface QA
Mozilla UI decisions made within 48 hours, or the next one is free
