Discourse Categories - A Review

#21

I agree it should be easy for newbies. For exactly the same reasons you stated.
But when that equation goes threw my brain it computes a different answer.

:grinning::grinning::grinning:

The answer would be latest as the default page(clearly labeled as such). And with “categories” clearly and easily there.

I think most websites work like that. From newspapers to blogs to blah blah.

Front page is latest stuff and if you want to look further it’s obvious and clear how to. You start looking for categories.

Joining and coming to grips with all these new systems and log ins and people and categories can be overwhelming. In my mind it’s better to see what’s topical and if you think aha I need to check xyz you naturally look for categories like you would on newspaper site etc.

I think the way “unread” is accessed however is different by definition (actuality) for new people and regulars.

“Unread” for people who have been here a long time is like an email inbox. Presuming you’ve read everything you only see new stuff. For people who have been reading all articles since day one this is useful to show what’s just come in or I’m probably not going to read because it’s a topic I’m not interested in.

“Unread” for new people means something slightly different. is a list of all unread items since joining. If you’ve just joined that’s everything. And highlights what you need to look at yo get familiar with the different topics.

For this inconsistency in what unread implies to different people I would say use it as a secondary way to navigate.

#22

To further complicate matters, there’s Top (which we currently have hidden from the navigation)

https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/top

available in yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily flavours

Unread has a specific meaning

Your unread topics appear here.

By default, topics are considered unread and will show unread counts 1 if you:

  • Created the topic
  • Replied to the topic
  • Read the topic for more than 4 minutes

Or if you have explicitly set the topic to Tracked or Watched via the notification control at the bottom of each topic.

Visiting Unread as a newbie shows you nothing

#23

At the risk of turning this into an everlasting bikeshedding exercise, how about this:

Top buttons made more distinct

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(that’s three buttons for talking, three buttons for documentation)

Categories:

  • Discussion
  • Off-Topic
  • Opportunities
  • Special offers
  • Private
  • Construction (to be retired soon)
  • Introductions
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Electromagnetic field
  • Other temporary categories for major events
  • Admin
  • Storage requests
  • Shutter requests
  • Meeting minutes
  • Other admin-related categories
  • @Roles
  • One
  • For
  • Each
  • Role to collect their own private discussion and documentation

The documentation lives in “hidden categories” - ie. you can only get to them via the buttons along the top, or when the topics pop up in Latest.

  • Tools
  • Woodworking
  • Computer-controlled manufacture
  • Textiles
  • Electronics
  • General purpose tools
  • Etc
  • Rules
  • Processes
    (includes fixed infrastructure, but also how to get storage permission, shutter access. Toilet cleaning rota. When to take the rubbish out etc.)

Documentation would use the (now stable) Topic Previews plugin so you get a thumbnail and some flavour text

Pasted image843×647 133 KB

Bikeshed away!

1 Like
#24

Honestly I think you should just do it.

I was thinking the other day that it would be good to have a public @role group with a private sub section like members, and in fact the @members could be an @role of a sort then.

Perhaps we could change the term @role to something like Working Groups like someone suggesting we setup previously.

#25

Yes, great, do it.

I think @role is fine. I prefer a single word, and working group… sounds like work.

One thing –

The public/private thing in @roles needs attention I think. I’m not sure if I helped or hindered the thinking last time, but from experience with marketing there’s been little need for private, and there’s lots that should be public. The need for private threads has been there, but direct message threads have worked well for that, and have the benefit of allowing others outside the role invited in.

I think something like the following.

- roles: member read only (not public)
  - a_role: member read only, writeable to those in the role
     - private: if wanted. i suspect the use-case is stuff that should be archived if it's going to be relevant to future people in that role
  - a_role: ...
     - private: ...

Part of the desire to have it public is so members see the work behind the space and to some degree are kept abreast, while keeping those threads focussed and between parties who might well have their own working language for the role. I think forepeople worked well, from the outside.

The wrinkle is how to present that in discourse in terms of Latest. It shouldn’t be shoved in peoples faces, and if it’s read-only to some that might need to be communicated carefully in how each page appears.

#26

I agree - transparent @role discussion and private archive. Unfortunately the tree depth is limited to 2 - no sub-subcategories, so they’ll have to sit alongside. This will only look ugly to Admins and Directors, so no big deal :slight_smile:

If there’s only a couple/handful of people in a @role, then even their busiest conversations shouldn’t make a mess of Latest.

As for the documentation categories, I think they should remain editable by all. Reverts are easy if someone gets edit-happy.

I like your idea of communicating the nature of the topic in its presentation, eg. Public, Private, Documentation. I’ll have a fiddle, but mockups/suggestions would be welcome.

The choice of front page is a debate worth having IMO, but it’s not critical right now. I live in hope that it will be a per-user setting in the future.

#27

As you can all tell, everything is up in the air. Sorry about the mess, but moving a topic counts as “new activity” so all these old topics are being bumped.

“Processes” is a horrible word. It contains things like “How to get to the space” “How to get into the space” “How to get inducted” . So I’ve just called it “How To” ?

2 Likes
#28

I think I’m finished.

Please let me know if you see a topic that is in the wrong category.

I’d like to subdivide the Tools category, but need to think about sensible subcategories first.

PS: The chatroom should be returning soon :slight_smile:

#29

Too cute?

2 Likes
#30

2 posts were split to a new topic: Improving mobile discourse

#31

I like “how to”

Could we add one for “how to request an induction?”

With a thread for 3D printer and a thread for laser cutter, so people can add their induction requests & know it will be seen?

Or is that info somewhere else already? It would be nice to make it clear.

1 Like
#32

The process itself is not clear, so would be hard to document!

Broadly, inductors should advertise sessions, rather than inductees request them, but that would be impossible to enforce. This is something the inductors need to decide amongst themselves.

EDIT: Although it appears to be working fairly well in an ad-hoc manner atm: Next 3d Printing introduction?

#33

Not sure where space or construction have gone?
Where are they now?

Can’t see them in my phone on main page or when adding thread.

#34

https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/c/discussion/construction

#35

“space” didn’t really mean anything, so it’s gone. construction is under discussion

2 Likes