[email protected] wrote: >> there is a cluster of pages in the PmWiki/ group which is in my >> opinion mostly obsolete and redundant, since the information is >> contained in the edit quick reference and the pages linked from there. > >The intended audience for these pages is absolute beginners who >have never used a wiki before and never used markup before, but >wish to learn. While it is true that the information is found in other >places, these either assume a knowledge of how wikis work and >how to use markup or they provide a level of detail that may be >overwhelming for the absolute beginner. > >Sometimes it helps to see things from more than one perspective. >You are free to ignore them if you find them unhelpful. > >If there is no requirement for a set of introductory pages for new >users, then they can, I think, be safely deleted. However, I urge >caution, as the number one reason I hear for not using a wiki is, >"I will not use it because it is not wysiwyg". They then point to a >long list of markup rules that are "hard to learn". > >So while the information is a repetition of that found elsewhere, >the pages are not necessarily redundant. Of course, they may >not be fulfilling their intended purpose either.
Although I generally agree with you that an alternate view and a quick and easy introduction could be useful, I have several problems with _this_ cluster of pages: - I don't see that the absolute beginner even would find these pages since they are not linked from outside (besides BlockMarkup). - The pages are not very well maintained IOW not up to date and maybe not even correct. - The terminology differs from that of the other documentation. - IMO they are not easier to understand than BasicEditing and TextFormattingRules. >Just my 10ยข worth. >> >> LineMarkup: Wrong title, redundant. > >What would be a correct title? I have never known what to call >markup that starts a line and affects the behaviour of the whole >line and only the line. Start-of-line markup? Line markup seems >simpler and clearer to me. A heading is a structural element, not "formatting". A list item can span more than a line and is also more structural than "formatting". Indented or hanging paragraphs are also not "lines". I don't understand "Compound line markup": '->' is _one_ markup, nothing compound. >> BlockMarkup: Is linked from the Documentation Index. The bottom part >> is IMO redundant and does not dfescribe "block markup". Could be >> merged with WikiStyles and Cookbook/DivisionsExplained. > >This is a good example of how edits to a page have over time >changed its purpose. The EditGettingStarted page defines block >markup as follows: > >Some markup affects the display of several lines of text -- >or text blocks. <splitting hairs> According to this definition, lists and paragraphs would be block markup - both are described in LineMarkup. </splitting hairs> >Under this definition, the bottom part of the page does indeed >describe block markup, whereas the top part of the page now >suggests that "block markup" is only about wikistyles. I don't know the full history of BlockMarkup. But currently, the first part added 2007-04-11 by "simon" doesn't explain more than WikiStyles, so I think it's redundant. Line breaks and [@ @] are described in Site/EditQuickReference and BasicEditing. [= =] is described in Site/EditQuickReference and TextFormattingRules. Note that the description of [@ @] and [= =] in BlockMarkup differs from Site/EditQuickReference, BasicEditing, TextFormattingRules at least regarding the terminology. >If these pages are deleted, there is AFAIK nowhere else in the >documentation that offers a logical way to understand wiki >markup. Exhibit A is TextFormattingRules and Exhibit B is >MasterMarkupIndex. It seems a shame to lose the markup >classification scheme (grammar) that these pages present. I'm afraid I don't understand what you want to express - please bear in mind that English is a foreign language for me. IMO EditQuickReference, BasicEditing and TextFormattingRules give a very well introduction to PmWiki markup. After revisiting this topic _very_ thoroughly, I still don't see the benefit of EditGettingStarted, CharacterMarkup, LineMarkup over EditQuickReference, BasicEditing and TextFormattingRules. But I'm not sure enough to delete them without support from others. I also don't consider BlockMarkup better to understand or adding new content. Oliver -- Oliver Betz, Muenchen (oliverbetz.de) _______________________________________________ pmwiki-users mailing list [email protected] http://www.pmichaud.com/mailman/listinfo/pmwiki-users
