Hi, I'm calling for input and opinions about collecting and providing self-explanatory templates to be bundled as a repository (aka "TemplateRepository") on smw.org that are re-usable in connection with SMW.
The objective would be to support first time users in their effort more quickly to become familiar with SMW by allowing to copy templates to enhance general functionality of Semantic MediaWiki right from the start. After reading the comment from [0] where sh(e) states that "I would like an inexperienced person of limited technical background to walk through some of the concepts with simple examples that I could cut, paste and modify in my own wiki. This would let me make mistakes because of what I don't know, but still move forward. " Making examples available for cut and paste usage seems a bit difficult (as it requires certain data sets to be available) but templates are a powerful tool in the "wiki world" to reduce input repetition and improve output presentation for specific content sections (info box etc.). Providing some kind of repository might come in handy for users unfamiliar with SMW and its inner workings where even an experienced user can be challenged to make templates work with SMW (depending on the requirements). Tools like [1] can provide support for a more complex modelling process but a first time or occasional user is probably looking for a simplified approach. Having a TemplateRepository where a user can browse (by use case), copy, and find some explanatory descriptions should ease the adaptation process and facilitate the usability of SMW. ## Questions - Would it make sense to have something like a TemplateRepository for re-use on smw.org? - How would a TemplateRepository need to be designed to be helpful to first time users or even expert users? - Do we have volunteers who are willing to help build a TemplateRepository? Do we have a champion who would be willing to drive such project? - What kind of TemplateRepository categories and common use cases (citation, book annotation etc.) would make most sense? ## Usage An easy way for users to download multiple templates would be by simply export a XML (e.g `Special:Export`) that contains all selected pages and use `Special:Import` to re-import the content without doing a manual copy and paste. Some categories to divide the usage could be based on an environmental dependency (can be used standalone, requires Lua, requires SF etc.). [0] http://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/20141102035706 [1] https://github.com/Fannon/mobo PS: smw.org = https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org Cheers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Semediawiki-devel mailing list Semediawiki-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/semediawiki-devel
