[tdf-discuss] Re: LibreOffice Forums Categories Proposal

Hi Christian,

Thanks for your comments, (see my in-line comments)

Le 2012-09-27 08:11, Christian Lohmaier a écrit :
> Hi *,
>
> On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 7:33 AM, Marc Paré<marc@marcpare.com>  wrote:
> > Please note that
> > the categories and forums shown on the page[2], at this point, are only
> > suggestions and may be modified (some may be removed or added) after we have
> > discussed this as a group.
>
> OK, my 0,02€ :-)
>
> Where's the difference between "General Discussion"&  "Lounge" (or
> whatever name will be chosen) - it is not clear to me.
> #######

Hmm, I guess there could have been a better description for this 
particular forum. It's a place where people hold discussions on topics 
that are not necessarily and most probably not related to 
TDF/LibreOffice. This will also allow moderators the option of pointing 
users who wish to hold off-topic discussions to this area of our forums. 
It's also a way to help with community building, where we can make users 
feel like they can come back and socialize at a more familiar level and 
hold friendly conversations that are not related to LibreOffice --a 
lounge to "kick off your shoes, relax and talk to the community".

The "General Discussion" forums should have topics related to 
LibreOffice. Some examples would be LibreOffice in the media 
(newspaper/magazine articles mentioning LibreOffice, or seen on video); 
general thoughts on how to improve the suite as a whole; or ideas on 
marketing etc.

> I don't think there is a need for an installation&  configuration
> category, let alone individual forums for each OS.
>
> Installation is best covered using "Tutorials"/The existing
> installation documentation.
> so I'd remove the Installation category&  forums and instead cover it
> in Tutorials and in a catchall/general questions section in
> libreoffice apps category. After all installing is not black magic...
> #######

I don't think that installation is as easy as you think for a new user 
or someone who has found themselves in a mess after 
installing/upgrading. The first thing a user would do on a forums is to 
look for a specific category. If these are separated right from the very 
start, we will be able to help users more efficiently, and as a plus, 
user-helpers (those who are interested in helping out with 
trouble-shooting with us) will be able to visit their own particular OS 
installation forums section without having to wade through the others. 
The benefits work both ways for users and helpers.

Users who have problems with installs generally do not come to a 
forums/list with the idea that the be directed to a tutorial, they are 
more interested in advice with a real person. Tutorials are nice as 
extra resource, but the primary reason for a user who has come to a 
forums for installation help is to get help by an informed person, which 
is what we are offering.

> In LibreOffice Applications, I wouldn't split them out as much, but
> rather shrink them to:
> * Writer&  Math
> * Calc
> * Impress&  Draw
> * Base
> * Catch-all/General (also the place to ask installation/configuration
> problems if not covered by the tutorials) - might even consider to put
> Base into this forum as well.
>
> For installation related questions, people can be asked in a sticky to
> prefix their topics with [win] [lin] [mac] (, [sol], [and] [ios],...)

We tried to do this on the contributor mailing lists and the results are 
that even the contributors do not do this. So, if the people engaged in 
the project do not follow this rule, how could we justify asking users 
to do follow this rule?

I find it easier to categorize the forums to make it easier on both the 
users and moderators-helpers; thereby making prefixes unnecessary.

> #######
> The SiteFeedback&  Website contributor forums seem to overlap

Yes, and this is on purpose.

Site feedback is for feedback of the forums site from the users -- 
whether they like the layout; whether they like certain forums; whether 
they like to visual aspects of the site ...

"Contributor" Website: The contributor forums mirror those of the 
mailing lists and these are to give the option to those mailing lists 
who would prefer to use the forums instead of mailing lists. We are 
hoping to hear from the various mailing-list-leads as to whether they 
would like to:

* move to a forums OR

* not use the forums at all (at which point the forums would be deleted 
from the forums site OR

* test try using both forums and their own mailing lists for a period of 
time after which they would decide on which one to keep.

So, for example, the "contributor" website forum would have the same 
exchange of discussions that are now happening on the website mailing list.

The contributor section of the website is where serious contributor work 
get done for the project -- a clear distinction from the user section 
which is there to help users in need.

> #######
> And I assume that the Admin-Category will be hidden for Anonymous&
> regular Users, right?

Yup.

> So I'd rather start with fewer forums, and if real-life usage proves
> me wrong, create the additional, specialized forums. But especially
> Math and Draw don't get so many questions that are specifc. Base might
> deserve its own section because the nature of the questions is
> redically different, and most of the time require database knowledge,
> but probably not from a volume perspective. Then again, I don't
> read/monitor the english user's list, so it might be different from
> e.g. the german project.
>
> So in short:
> * remove Installation Category (cover it in tutorial and app-questions)
> * combine Apps forums (and create a general forum for non-app specific
> question like for installation)
> * explain difference between "General Discussion" and "Lounge"
> * check overlap betwen "Site Feedback" and "Website"

IMO, installation categories are best left separated to allow for users 
easier pre-filtered information of a particular OS installation. 
User-helpers can then specialize and monitor their particular OS 
Installation forum more efficiently.

I think a user coming to a LibreOffice forums would expect seeing forums 
based, first of all, on its different applications: Writer, Calc, 
Impress, Draw, Math and Base. To combine them would just add unnecessary 
confusion. Having them separated right from the start will allow for 
better categorization of the help-information. This will also allow 
users interested in browsing previous threads on a specific category 
easier access to the information. Also, the same could be said that 
user-helpers can then specialize and monitor their particular 
application forum more efficiently.

Whether a forums has fewer questions are not, IMO, is not a good reason 
to combine them. If we are to community build, and, especially on a 
forums, then it is up to us (coordinators, moderators, uer-helpers) to 
make sure that discussions and interest is garnered on forums to make 
our product more attractive.

> ciao
> Christian

Cheers,

Marc


--
Marc Paré
Marc@MarcPare.com
http://www.parEntreprise.com
parEntreprise.com Supports OpenDocument Formats (ODF)
parEntreprise.com Supports http://www.LibreOffice.org


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