I agree with Kay that one reason someone may want to contact us is because there is a problem with the web site itself. I also think that going directly to the mailing list page is perhaps too abrupt. Some free analysis from the top of orcmid's head:
For issues about the site(s) itself, I think a bottom-of-page link is fine. It might go to another web page that refines the contact based on particular cases (two that should always be prominent and straightforward are for the site and for anything to do with security concerns -- but not directly to ooo-security.). With user issues, taking people directly to bugzilla is effectively a giant FU for ordinary users. A bullet item that links to how to file a bug and also links directly to bugzilla is good, so experts don't have to do the drill-down. (Might need a branch for those needing a bugzilla account too.) [Something like this might help refine the security case as well.] Then I think there can be explanation that all other support is peer support from other users and developer volunteers, with some indication about the options (wiki, forums, web site, mailing-list subscriptions, and bugzilla) and how to search/explore/choose among them. This would probably be right after something about web site issues and security concerns. Third tier on some of these might be FAQ that provide more detail and help users address common concerns. (I.e., what to do when an AV product says their download is infected, what the project does to ensure the integrity of binaries and how to find those to be confident in them, how to check their authenticity, etc. That's been going around lately.) Finally, of course, there is always the welcoming of those who might want to themselves contribute to an aspect that is a concern or interest for them. I suppose I should put myself in this last category, although I am not prepared to figure out how to work on such a page [set]. Sorry. - Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Kay Schenk [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 09:43 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WWW] Feedback/"contact us" about the website link needed... On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 4:46 PM, Rob Weir <[email protected]> wrote: [ ... ] > Another way to think of it: 99.99% of the time, if a user actually > needs to contact us, then the website has failed its purpose. We can > only handle 100 million users if, for the vast majority of cases, they > can self-support themselves via the website's navigation and find what > they want. So the challenge here is to handle the exceptional 0.01% > of cases, without becoming the path of least resistance for the other > 99.99%. > > -Rob > Rob-- I understand what you're saying, believe me. I guess I feel we should provide an easier avenue for people to report problems with the site itself. I'm also aware that if I just put in a simple link with a "mailto" tag, many folks won't be able to deal with that because they won't have a "default" e-mail client. How about a "Contact Us" link that directs them to our existing "Mailing List" page -- http://incubator.apache.org/openofficeorg/mailing-lists.html. We could add a bit more description to the "Development Mailing List" to indicate that it would be used for submitting questions/problems about the web site. Or do you think it would be best to direct them to BZ? > > -- > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > MzK > > > > "Follow your bliss." > > -- attributed to Joseph Campbell > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MzK "Follow your bliss." -- attributed to Joseph Campbell
