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| My name is '''Aaron Faanes'''. I am a [[Fedora 13]] user, [[Special:Contributions/Dafrito|occasional Wiki contributor]], and [http://github.com/dafrito frequent hacker]. See [http://www.dafrito.com my homepage].
| | {{Infobox user |
| | |REAL-NAME= Aaron Faanes |
| | |location= Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, US |
| | |image= Aaron faanes.png{{!}}220px |
| | |fas-name= dafrito |
| | |email= dafrito@gmail.com |
| | ||irc-nick= dafrito |
| | }} |
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| == Contacts ==
| | My name is '''Aaron Faanes'''. I am a [[Fedora 13]] user, [[Special:Contributions/Dafrito|Wiki contributor]], and [http://github.com/dafrito frequent hacker]. |
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| Email: [mailto:dafrito@gmail.com dafrito@gmail.com]
| | I may be contacted via email at [mailto:dafrito@gmail.com dafrito@gmail.com]. I can also be found on [http://www.freenode.net irc.freenode.net] with the nickname "dafrito" on many of the Fedora-related channels, such as [irc://irc.freenode.net/#fedora-qa #fedora-qa], [irc://irc.freenode.net/#fedora-devel #fedora-devel], and [irc://irc.freenode.net/#fedora-bugzappers #fedora-bugzappers]. |
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| You can also find me on IRC. My nickname there is, not surprisingly, <code>dafrito</code>. I frequent many of the various Fedora channels on <code>irc.freenode.net</code>, such as:
| | == Contributions == |
| * <code>#fedora</code>
| | My work on the [[Fedora Project wiki]] varies pretty widely, from minor edits to significant new content. I initially worked on tickets from [[QA]], such as editing [[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson's]] draft on [[proven tester]]s. I then started contributing new pages like [[Help:Style guide]]. I've also partaken in some maintenance tasks such as performing [[Template:User page migration|user page migrations]]. I've also created some useful infoboxes, such as [[:Template:Infobox group]] and [[:Template:Infobox package]]. |
| * <code>#fedora-qa</code>
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| * <code>#fedora-devel</code>
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| * <code>#fedora-bugzappers</code>
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| == Notable pages ==
| | For future work, my emphasis seems to be on making information more efficient for users and contributors. That usually comes down to creating templates to provide quick summaries, and to also provide a easily recognizable means of navigation. I'd like to see much more integration between pages, and also see integration between other documentation projects, such as [http://fedorasolved.org fedorasolved.org] and especially [http://docs.fedoraproject.org docs.fedoraproject.org]. The docs are far too high-quality and information-rich for the wiki ''not'' to link to them. |
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| * [[User:Dafrito/Draft_proventesters_instructions]] lots of editing. Thanks to [[User:Adamwill]] for his draft and feedback.
| | I've also proposed [[User:Dafrito/Naming conventions|a change of naming conventions]] for [[projects|project pages]]. For example, I believe project pages like [[Women]], [[QA]], and [[Infrastructure]] should actually be named "Fedora Women", "Fedora QA", etc. |
| * [[Policy for nonresponsive package maintainers]] needs some love
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| == Thoughts == | | == See also == |
| | | * [[Special:Contributions/Dafrito|My Fedora Project wiki contributions]] |
| * Shouldn't [[Fedora]] link to an article on Fedora, rather than [[infrastructure]]? | | * [https://admin.fedoraproject.org/accounts/user/view/dafrito My FAS account] |
| * It'd also be cool to have pages for all versions of Fedora, with a template used to describe each.
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| * "updates-testing" and "Test Updates" are used interchangeably, which I don't believe should be the case. "Test Updates" is a natural name which succinctly describes its purpose. "updates-testing" is the technical name that is used by machines. This dual-naming scheme is familiar to the common and scientific names given to animals, like ''Canis lupus'' referring to a wolf, and I think the expectations for which to use for animal names should apply here.
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| == State of the Fedora wiki ==
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| Wiki's are excellent for housing lots of content, they are easy for people to edit and use, and they are well-understood. People have learned how Wikipedia.org is organized, and I believe they have come to expect Wikipedia-like behavior from similar looking sites. I humbly believe that the Fedora wiki deviates too often from this expectation, and I think an effort should be made to reorganize it, safely and carefully, to adhere more with common conventions.
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| I understand that the Fedora Wiki has a different purpose than the Wikipedia itself. Along with housing purely encyclopedic articles, it houses drafts, proposals, how-to's, meeting logs, project homepages, and so on. I think this is an excellent use of the wiki, as it can tolerate a vast amount of information without overloading users. The Fedora wiki should not deviate from user's expectations unless there is a great benefit from the deviation. Things like unusual article names, unconventional article formats, and unexpected uses of features are sadly the norm in the wiki. I believe these inconsistencies cause confusion amongst visitors and discouragement amongst contributors. Let me address a few of the pressing concerns, and some of their potential solutions.
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| === Article prefixes ===
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| Article prefixes are pseudo-categories that mangle article names, such as the <code>QA/</code> in [[QA/Updates Testing]]. While prefixes can sometimes appear natural, such as [[Releases/Rawhide]], they are usually unnecessary and distracting. For the most part, articles that have prefixes would be better served by either being in a category, by having a more descriptive name, or not having a prefix whatsoever. Article prefixes are harmful to the Wiki in many ways:
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| * '''Article prefixes are ambiguous.''' [[QA/Updates Testing]] is an ambiguous, and probably inappropriate name. The implication is that the article provides QA-specific information on <code>updates-testing</code>, or that <code>updates-testing</code> is something that is owned/managed/created by QA.
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| * '''Article prefixes are arbitrary.''' [[Fedora Release Criteria]] discusses the criteria for Fedora releases. [[Releases]] discusses releases in a broad sense. [[ReleaseEngineering/Overview]] is a very good article that also discusses releases. All are good, but which is definitive? There should be a natural starting point to these articles, with specific content in specifically named articles.
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| * '''Article prefixes create walled gardens'''. The QA/ prefix appears to "own" many disparate articles. Editors must decide whether their article is related to the QA group enough to place their article under that prefix. If they do, then they likely add more vagueness to the meaning of the QA prefix. If they don't, then visitors may not understand why one article merits a prefix and a related one did not. | |
| * '''Article prefixes are frustrating for editors.''' A contributor must type out the name, and then pipe it for easy readability. For example, to refer to updates-testing, an editor must write "<code><nowiki>[[QA/Updates Testing|updates-testing]]</nowiki></code>". Their alternative is not piping and instead having the unsightly [[QA/Updates Testing]].
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| These problems combine to create a confusing experience for both users and contributors. Visitors do not understand why a prefix is used, and contributors create redundant articles and neglect networking with articles of similar content. This severely hinders usability, since effort and articles are fragmented across arbitrary divisions.
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| ==== Solutions ====
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| Article prefixes should be deprecated and phased out. In fact, many, many articles that have article prefixes already redirect to unprefixed names, so it seems like their phase-out is happening regardless of whether it is official or not. They should, however, be phased out in an orderly fashion. Redirects should remain to preserve backwards-compatibility, but these redirects should not be directly reachable. The fix for the prefixed article depends on the original reason for the prefix, and the article's content.
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| ===== Function-related articles =====
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| Since prefixes imply a strong, mutually exclusive separation of purpose, they should be used when articles have special editing rules or unconventional origins. Here's a few examples:
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| * <code>Log/</code> for meeting logs. Since these logs are not intended to be edited and have only one author, they're ideal candidates for a special prefix.
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| * <code>Proposal/</code> for FESCo and other proposals. Proposals usually are much more fluid than regular articles. They typically have a strict format, are "owned" by an individual user, and document a "current" event rather than a concept or component in Fedora. This special nature deserves a prefix of its own.
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| * <code>HowTo/</code> or <code>Tutorial</code>. These describe a process in exact detail. They are linear and highly instructional.
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| ===== Categories =====
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| Prefixes are sometimes used to imply a categorical relationship. These should be fixed by removing the prefix and adding the appropriate category. Prefixed articles like the many under the [[Ambassadors]] prefix are ideal candidates.
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| ===== Subtopics =====
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| Prefixes sometimes indicate a collection of subtopics. [[Releases]], [[Fedora Release Criteria]], and the content of [[ReleaseEngineering/Overview]] are all discussing one major concept: releases. These articles should be merged and renamed accordingly to indicate this topic/subtopic relationship. The following outline is a possibility:
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| * Release
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| ** Release types
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| *** Branched
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| *** Rawhide
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| ** Release criteria
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| ** Release process
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| These subtopics could be sections in the "Release" article, or they could be separate articles referred to by the main article. This choice depends on the amount of content. Once again, the Wikipedia provides good examples for how this separation may be gracefully accomplished.
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| Aaron Faanes
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| Personal information
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| Location: |
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, US
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| E-mail: |
dafrito@gmail.com
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| Contact information
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| IRC: |
dafrito on irc.libera.chat
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| Fedora-specific information
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| FAS name: |
dafrito
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| Fedora e-mail: |
dafrito@fedoraproject.org
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| Fedora homepage: |
dafrito.fedorapeople.org
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My name is Aaron Faanes. I am a Fedora 13 user, Wiki contributor, and frequent hacker.
I may be contacted via email at dafrito@gmail.com. I can also be found on irc.freenode.net with the nickname "dafrito" on many of the Fedora-related channels, such as #fedora-qa, #fedora-devel, and #fedora-bugzappers.
Contributions
My work on the Fedora Project wiki varies pretty widely, from minor edits to significant new content. I initially worked on tickets from QA, such as editing Adam Williamson's draft on proven testers. I then started contributing new pages like Help:Style guide. I've also partaken in some maintenance tasks such as performing user page migrations. I've also created some useful infoboxes, such as Template:Infobox group and Template:Infobox package.
For future work, my emphasis seems to be on making information more efficient for users and contributors. That usually comes down to creating templates to provide quick summaries, and to also provide a easily recognizable means of navigation. I'd like to see much more integration between pages, and also see integration between other documentation projects, such as fedorasolved.org and especially docs.fedoraproject.org. The docs are far too high-quality and information-rich for the wiki not to link to them.
I've also proposed a change of naming conventions for project pages. For example, I believe project pages like Women, QA, and Infrastructure should actually be named "Fedora Women", "Fedora QA", etc.
See also
