I'll give this a go later on today and will post something on the wiki and we can go from there.<br><br>~R<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 12:13 PM, Jason Kelly <<a href="mailto:jasonk@mit.edu">jasonk@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">hey jenny/ricardo,<br>
maybe the next step here would be for you guys to work together on a<br>
mock-up of a new de-wikied OWW homepage? let me know if that makes<br>
sense.<br>
<br>
ricardo, i'd like it to be geared towards new users, and i think you<br>
have a good feel now for what it would be best for them to see.<br>
<br>
thanks<br>
<font color="#888888">jason<br>
</font><div class="Ih2E3d"><br>
<br>
---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: Reshma Shetty <<a href="mailto:rshetty@mit.edu">rshetty@mit.edu</a>><br>
Date: Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 4:27 PM<br>
Subject: Re: [OWW-Discuss] Front page. It needs more than it has.Anysuggestions?<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">To: Jason Kelly <<a href="mailto:jasonk@mit.edu">jasonk@mit.edu</a>><br>
Cc: "Steven J. Koch" <<a href="mailto:sjkoch@unm.edu">sjkoch@unm.edu</a>>, Barry Canton <<a href="mailto:bcanton@mit.edu">bcanton@mit.edu</a>>,<br>
<a href="mailto:oww-discuss@mit.edu">oww-discuss@mit.edu</a>, <a href="mailto:team@openwetware.org">team@openwetware.org</a><br>
<br>
<br>
I'm divided on whether dewikifying the main page is a good idea or not ...<br>
<br>
However, it may be worth considering converting the <a href="http://openwetware.org" target="_blank">openwetware.org</a><br>
page to a static html page. It could be modeled on Wikipedia: an OWW<br>
logo surrounded by links to Protocols, Blogs, Labs, Resources,<br>
Materials, etc. plus a prominent search box and Join OWW link centered<br>
below. Clicking on any link takes them to the "real" wiki. The wiki<br>
"main page" could continue to be our current main page akin to how<br>
Wikipedia does it.<br>
<br>
Thoughts?<br>
<br>
-Reshma<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 12:53 PM, Jason Kelly <<a href="mailto:jasonk@mit.edu">jasonk@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
> I agree with this strongly, steve.<br>
><br>
> I would point out that <a href="http://wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">http://wikipedia.org/</a> points to a "non-wiki"<br>
> welcome page. I think if we did this for OWW we would need to make<br>
> sure we kept links to the core stuff prominent on the main page. (e.g.<br>
> we would still have a search box, it would just be front and center,<br>
> rather then on the side). Also links to labs, protocols, etc, would<br>
> stay.<br>
><br>
> You right that tracking wikimedia is an excellent way to save on<br>
> resources / get free "buzz" and new community members who already<br>
> trained by wikipedia to understand our wiki engine. So i agree we<br>
> should keep the connection strong, might be more explicit about saying<br>
> that OWW is a wiki on the mainpage. (the word wiki isn't on there<br>
> right now).<br>
><br>
> thanks,<br>
> jason<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 12:09 PM, Steven J. Koch <<a href="mailto:sjkoch@unm.edu">sjkoch@unm.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
> > Looks like I'm in the minority opinion, but I feel strongly that main page<br>
> > should not be dewikified. First, there may be unintended<br>
consequences. It<br>
> > always seems like there won't be, but there always are. For example,<br>
> > sometimes (rarely) I'll type in the address on my cell phone and then use<br>
> > the search box (which won't be there). Second, it may have the<br>
consequence<br>
> > of confusing people who ARE specifically looking for a lab<br>
wiki. This was<br>
> > me a little over a year ago--I was very happy to find something<br>
that looked<br>
> > like Wikipedia. I may not have joined if I found a main page that wasn't<br>
> > obviously a wiki. Of course, there may be more people unlike<br>
me, who have<br>
> > been turned away, this in unknown. But as time goes on, I<br>
would think the<br>
> > general scientific community will become more acquainted with<br>
Wikipedia and<br>
> > therefore wikis.<br>
> ><br>
> > Another thought in regards to my second point. Google decided to wipe<br>
> > "wiki" from their vocabulary. Maybe I'm in the minority<br>
opinion here too,<br>
> > but I find that a poor decision. Back when I joined OWW, I<br>
also signed up<br>
> > to be notified when jotspot was accepting customers again. A<br>
year later, I<br>
> > finally was notified and I was not at all attracted to Google Sites as an<br>
> > application for my lab wiki. Whether or not Google made the<br>
right decision,<br>
> > it does seem that their interface is geared towards people who<br>
don't want to<br>
> > see wiki code. There's no way we can compete with Google as<br>
far as general<br>
> > technical features go. But we can compete in terms of the<br>
community focused<br>
> > on open science and smart technical features like Lab Notebook<br>
2.0. OWW's<br>
> > mission is in the same vein as Wikipedia's mission and they<br>
share the same<br>
> > wiki engine. So, I think a general guiding principle should be<br>
to emulate<br>
> > what Wikimedia does. This should save a ton on workload and I think also<br>
> > make sense to the majority of the OWW community and potential<br>
new members.<br>
> ><br>
> > --Steve<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > -----Original Message-----<br>
> > From: <a href="mailto:oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu">oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu">oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu</a>] On<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > Behalf Of Barry Canton<br>
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7:46 AM<br>
> > To: julius.lucks<br>
> > Cc: <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > Subject: Re: [OWW-Discuss] Front page. It needs more than it<br>
> > has.Anysuggestions?<br>
> ><br>
> > I'm also in favor of getting rid of most of the the wikiness<br>
from the main<br>
> > page.<br>
> ><br>
> > On 4/15/08, julius.lucks <<a href="mailto:julius.lucks@gmail.com">julius.lucks@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> > > I agree with Jason's points - Julius<br>
> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
> > -----------<br>
> > > <a href="http://www.openwetware.org/wiki/User:Julius_B._Lucks" target="_blank">http://www.openwetware.org/wiki/User:Julius_B._Lucks</a><br>
> > ><br>
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
> > ------------<br>
> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> > ><br>
> > > On Apr 14, 2008, at 8:52 PM, Jason Kelly wrote:<br>
> > ><br>
> > > > agree with steve that we should keep it simple. Also, I think the<br>
> > > > main page is mostly used by new users, I assume most regular users<br>
> > > > never go there, so we could gear the page even more to new<br>
users then<br>
> > > > it already is.<br>
> > > ><br>
> > > > e.g. a prominent getting started button / prominent join button (not<br>
> > > > just a link buried in text), a search box in the middle somewhere,<br>
> > > > etc.<br>
> > > ><br>
> > > > might even o with a totally "non-wiki" main page (e.g. lose the side<br>
> > > > bar and the top bar) as well.<br>
> > > ><br>
> > > > thanks,<br>
> > > > jason<br>
> > > ><br>
> > > > On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 11:42 PM, Ilya Sytchev<br>
<<a href="mailto:ilyas@mit.edu">ilyas@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
> > > >> Also, I've removed the heading "Main Page" from the Main Page. I<br>
> > > >> think<br>
> > > >> it looks cleaner this way but if you disgree I can revert<br>
this change<br>
> > > >> very easily.<br>
> > > >><br>
> > > >> Ilya<br>
> > > >><br>
> > > >><br>
> > > >><br>
> > > >><br>
> > > >> Reshma Shetty wrote:<br>
> > > >>> Great work! Looks much better.<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> Two minor comments...<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> 1) I'd get rid of the blog name on the RSS feed (if that's<br>
> > > >>> possible).<br>
> > > >>> I think it is redundant for the feed on the main page.<br>
The time of<br>
> > > >>> the post is likely also unnecessary (but keep the date). But if<br>
> > > >>> this<br>
> > > >>> requires additional recoding of the extension, then skip it.<br>
> > > >>> 2) I am seeing some faint blue lines around each feed element ...<br>
> > > >>> not<br>
> > > >>> sure why ... perhaps some CSS oddity?<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> I agree with Steve re the main page. I prefer a streamlined main<br>
> > > >>> page<br>
> > > >>> ... especially if it helps with load time (which was<br>
quite slow ...<br>
> > > >>> due at least in part to an unnecessarily large main page image ...<br>
> > > >>> not<br>
> > > >>> sure about now?)<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> team is the email list for the OWW board + full-time OWWers ...<br>
> > > >>> Bill,<br>
> > > >>> Lorrie and Ricardo. All folks on team are also on discuss.<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> -Reshma<br>
> > > >>><br>
> > > >>> On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 10:59 PM, Steve Koch<br>
> > > >>> <<a href="mailto:koch.steve@kochlab.org">koch.steve@kochlab.org</a>> wrote:<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>> I can come up with ideas, but my opinion is that it looks pretty<br>
> > > >>>> good right<br>
> > > >>>> now and more stuff may dilute effectiveness of stuff that is<br>
> > > >>>> there. That's<br>
> > > >>>> just my opinion, but brings up another question. What kind of<br>
> > > >>>> metric would<br>
> > > >>>> show how effective the main page is? Maybe this has been figured<br>
> > > >>>> out<br>
> > > >>>> already?<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>> What's "<a href="mailto:team@openwetware.org">team@openwetware.org</a>?"<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>> From: <a href="mailto:oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu">oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu</a><br>
> > [mailto:<a href="mailto:oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu">oww-discuss-bounces@mit.edu</a><br>
> > > >>>> ] On<br>
> > > >>>> Behalf Of Bill F<br>
> > > >>>> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 8:50 PM<br>
> > > >>>> To: <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a>; <a href="mailto:team@openwetware.org">team@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > > >>>> Subject: [OWW-Discuss] Front page. It needs more than it has.<br>
> > > >>>> Anysuggestions?<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>> We've pared it down to the point that it's getting pretty<br>
> > > >>>> 'minimalistic'.<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>> Any ideas on what to do to start bulking it up a bit?<br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>>><br>
> > > >>> _______________________________________________<br>
> > > >>> OpenWetWare Discussion Mailing List<br>
> > > >>> <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > > >>> <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss" target="_blank">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss</a><br>
> > > >> _______________________________________________<br>
> > > >> OpenWetWare Discussion Mailing List<br>
> > > >> <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > > >> <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss" target="_blank">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss</a><br>
> > > >><br>
> > > > _______________________________________________<br>
> > > > OpenWetWare Discussion Mailing List<br>
> > > > <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > > > <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss" target="_blank">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss</a><br>
> > ><br>
> > > _______________________________________________<br>
> > > OpenWetWare Discussion Mailing List<br>
> > > <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > > <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss" target="_blank">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss</a><br>
> > ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > --<br>
> > Barry Canton<br>
> > Endy Lab<br>
> > Biological Engineering Division<br>
> > Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
> ><br>
> > Tel.:(617) 401-7320 (Grand Central)<br>
> > Email1: <a href="mailto:bcanton@mit.edu">bcanton@mit.edu</a><br>
> > Email2: <a href="mailto:bcanton@gmail.com">bcanton@gmail.com</a><br>
> > _______________________________________________<br>
> > OpenWetWare Discussion Mailing List<br>
> > <a href="mailto:discuss@openwetware.org">discuss@openwetware.org</a><br>
> > <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss" target="_blank">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/oww-discuss</a><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Ricardo Vidal<br><a href="mailto:rvidal@gmail.com">rvidal@gmail.com</a> | <a href="http://my.biotechlife.net">http://my.biotechlife.net</a><br><a href="http://www.openwetware.org">http://www.openwetware.org</a> - Share your Science