I dont know if this is possible but how about including a home page in XOOPS default installation with a site map to all FAQs and other help pages in Xoops. So that when a user installs XOOPS the first thing he will see is the home page with a sitemap to all the FAQs and other help pages.

I like rajanurs idea!
The ultimate place for help would be right in front of your nose when you have a fresh install. Maybe including in the next major release the complete faq database from the time of release would really help a lot of new users.
It should be visible on the first page when XOOPS is installed out of the box. We could make it a big centerblock or something. And ofcourse we can direct them to the online XOOPS faq for the most recent questions and answers.
Also the operation guide should have a place there.

The negative side on this would be a bigger size downloading and uploading a XOOPS website. If the XOOPS system is growing too much, users will stop using it because its too big for their little amount of webspace.
Maybe a live rss-feed or something to xoops.org would solve this. But then we have the traffic coming towards xoops.org.

About the community menu:
putting the newbie links on top is a great idea! If we can clean up those newbie sections a little it would make things easier for newbies I think.

There has been several very creative and positive ideas generated here that are too valuable to be lost. Now it's time to pick up the tab and turn them into something worth implementing. Documentation falls under my hat and much of what we have said here is to do with presenting documentation in a clear and well managed way. I am goung to abstract what's been discussed in this thread and make some recommendations although any final changes need to be made in concert with other decision makers.

If anyone wants to contribute in this please contact me or continue this thread.

The general cry of most administrators is "Don't just knock it down, ... build something better"

So there's the challenge then!

I still stand by my suggestion of changing the way the latest version block is presented (posted earlier in this thread) That's not a difficult thing to change, and makes the front page, and the access to XOOPS core downloads (including language files) much clearer.

Another suggestion - move the Documentation block above the Development block. Development is of more interest to XOOPERS who know their way around the site already, in my opinion, whereas Documentation needs to reach people who have only just discovered it and therefore needs to be more obviously positioned.

And a final suggestion... change the 'A Visual Introduction to XOOPS' link in the Documentation block so that it points to the actual document, not to the news post about it. The other links go directly to the documents, that one should too.

I still think my other suggestion about changing the search block is pretty cool too, but that will require that the template be changed... more work than my other suggestions, I can see that it may not be worth the effort

I also second the suggestion to include the FAQ link under the Documentation section. It is being used as a method of documenting common issues, and logically should fall under the documentation section, imo.

Rowd

happy to contribute - but it is now xmas eve and I am offline till new year...so I will catch up then!


Merry xmas to all
Jenny

**** actual newcomers, skip to bottom ****

[ supreme suggestion: JMorris should prepend to his disclaimer that his thread does not, in fact offer any 'support' "to the newcomer" even though it is so titled and filed! Or better yet - put a *real* link to the 'blanc p8j' prob.]

hey, thanks alot...

xoops is probably great. I wouldnt know. I'm having the infamous ''b1anc p8j'' problem... and I did what I'm supposed to... check the docs... read through the whole visual introduction, which describes the immaculate conception of xoops, then ran search, and repeatedly came upon THIS thread, because the stinking terms are used several times, WITHOUT linking to the "appropriate" thread, one real einstein even made a link for ''b1anc p8j'' as if he was pointing to some actual help, and the link is broke!!! then i read you talk about us newbies like the deer that ran in front of your mercedes. "the poor dumb animal, dont know why he leapt in front of my car by asking about that question, I couldnt help but destroy it. isn't my mercedes wonderful? wish i had more time to polish it instead of taking it to the repair shop." "Oh, I know what you mean, those insufferable deer... we should have longer hunting seasons..."

in effect: Longer threads with clever cover titles to disguise their true devotion to the disparagement of the wide-eyed, highly appreciative, humble and, unfortunately, frustrated, newcomer

search:"blank page"
FIRST (#1) RESULT under "support forums" is "To the Newcomer" - and I think - oh boy! that's me alright, and read the 4 pages of utterly non-helpful info in this thread.

...refusing to even pose the obviously nefarious question, knowing full well the consequences of such... I'm back to my foraging for food as I starve for that vital tidbit...

update >>
real thanks to the XOOPS dev team, and some real thanks to the doc team...
" BLANK PAGE ": filed under FAQ, immediately below... (bonafide good job there technocrats, cheers!)
..btw: changed line NINETYFIVE of common.php from '0' to '1' for errors, re-upped, and hit refresh... and without even listing a single error, it just up and worked... bizarre.

https://xoops.org/modules/smartfaq/faq.php?faqid=80

What the??

Mercedes, Deer, Hunting?! I drive a $800 Toyota, I hate Deer, and the only thing I shoot is a camera. Repair shop? I am my repair shop. LOL!

Just to clarify, I don't look at newcommers like that. However, I do believe newcommers should do footwork for themselves. You apparently have done so, as I did for months prior to joining XOOPS. Believe me, I'm no guru coder, so I did a LOT of footwork to learn XOOPS.

Please try to keep in mind, this thread was not designed as a solution to the blank page issue or any other issue for that matter. It was designed to show newcommers how to get help, or more accurately, a more effective way of getting help.

Step one: Read the manual
Step two: Read the FAQ
Step three: Search the Knowledge Base (forums)
Step four: Ask for help

Kinda like: Hi, welcome to XOOPS, here's where you go to get help.

Sorry this thread came up so often for you when you were searching for blank page. I hardly doubt it warrants your post though.

At any rate, welcome to XOOPS. I hope your experience with XOOPS improves.

ok i have 1 possible solution that might help out a bit more using the a page on the XOOPS installation.

maybe we can discuss it further and i'd be more than willing to do this aswell..

but what's needed to know is what exactly would you newcomers want to see on such a page after installation?

i'm definitely not going to write pages and pages of docs.. but some basic instructions such as what to do in case of a blank page etc, how to set permissions, etc.. basically take some info from the docs and FAQ and put them into a small html page, and then provide direct links to the help docs and FAQ section..

also a guide to using and getting the best out of xoops.org forums.. maybe explaining the etiquette of not spamming (posting same question on multiple forums), asking questions that have been repeated over and over.. how to ask a question etc.. what info to give in your questions, how to find out your versions of software : php version, apache, IIS, MySQL etc..

this basic help guide after installation is not hard to do and a complete beginner could literally do it, it's just a matter of deciding what info is required and then typing it up as an html page (it wouldn't take up much space either for those with limited space accounts on their servers) and would save the idea of including the FAQ on each XOOPS package..

let me know and i'll write it up and submit it to the dev team.. after all it would only mean editing 1 line of code in the install script..

I recently switched from PostNuke to Xoops. I'd suggest looking at what comes up the first time you install PN. There is a simple welcome statement and then links to FAQs and Documentation on their support site. They have instructions on how to remove this message from the home page!

I think this is also needed. I was surprised the first time I installed XOOPS because there was nothing on the home page. I was not sure (for about 2 mins) if the install was actually successful or not.

I have 5 sites and they are all going over to Xoops. 2 down, 3 to go. Did the 2nd one today in 3 hours. Everything. Brilliant.

Finally an offer. I think I'm not too bad at writing documentation, so if someone from the docs department wants to drop me a line and a topic, I'll push out a draft.

Quote:

Very happy for some more help pfaulkne.

We have some good projects going on ATM on the docs site, so I'll PM you.

Thanks

Richard