ArneJoris Would Like to Check-in

Who am I?

I am an IT consultant who is currently using way too many Microsoft products for his own good, so I want to do something useful on Linux and in perl/python to keep my sanity, I have been using perl and python for a long time to do just about anything, and I have been using wikis for several years too, so foswiki development seemed like a good idea,.

What do I want?

write access to SVN for the following branches:

wikiplugins

What can I do?

I have some experience talking to end users (customers) and translating that into software requirements. I don't know if that can be useful for foswiki.

I have written probably hundreds of wiki topics for a corporate wiki (embedded software development) and I have developed some idea of how corporate wikis work and how they are different from public ones.

And of course I know a bit of perl too.

Why do I want to do it?

After using open source software for over a decade, I finally have the opportunity to contribute. And of course I want to get my name on the internet, so that people with wiki woes can find me as a consultant to do some custom development. Hey, just being honest

Other Notes

Topics I have contributed to

Topic	Last Modified	Last Editor
Tasks.WebNotify	23 Apr 2024 - 22:05	Main.unknown
Tasks.HallOfFame	22 Jun 2022 - 12:10	MichaelDaum
Extensions.WebStatistics2010	19 May 2021 - 18:04	MichaelDaum
Extensions.BigBlueButtonPlugin	03 Jun 2020 - 06:48	TanBh
Tasks.Item9824	12 Dec 2017 - 17:02	MichaelDaum
Tasks.Item10052	29 Nov 2010 - 15:04	ArneJoris

Questions and Comments

Hello Arne - welcome to foswiki - yes, we'd love to hear more user centric ideas

-- SvenDowideit - 01 Oct 2010

Thanks! I have noticed that users often go to the "main" web, thinking it's the central location from where they can explore the wiki. All the wiki's I have seen have been maintained by people who only customize the Main wiki for user registration and not much else, leaving that web full of 'wiki speak' that confuses wiki newbies.

It's not particularly easy to rename the main web to, for example, your company name, which in my opinion would encourage contributors to put content there and turn it into the central location most new users look for. For example the internal wiki for the company named "Acme" would list me as Acme.ArneJoris, rather than Main.ArneJoris . Can we make it easier to rename the main web?

-- ArneJoris - 01 Oct 2010

Main web can be renamed in configure. Of course all existing links with Main.SomeUser will be broken

-- ArthurClemens - 01 Oct 2010

It's a very legitimate point; I actually think we should ship with a default (empty) Home web - defaulting Foswiki to %USERSWEB% is a bit mad (!), but on the other hand, it's trivial to make apache redirect rule to take you to a 'Home' web instead of Main.

Write a feature proposal, see what happens

-- PaulHarvey - 02 Oct 2010

We need an easier way to set the default web.

But please - no Home web, no renaming of Main. Existing users that later upgrade (and they are the most important - loyalty must be rewarded) will have problems.

We created problems when we chose the name System. Many of you will remember that we had upgraders that already had a System web.

And I can tell you that I have a Home web at Motorola which is the default landing web.

Shipping as few webs as possible is the best strategy. But an easier way to change the default landing from Main web to the web of your choice.

-- KennethLavrsen - 02 Oct 2010

What is the primary purpose of the Main web? The System web clearly holds wiki-specific topics such as site preferences, plugin documentation, and wiki FAQs. Out-of-the-box, the Main web seems to contain user registration forms and a place for registered users to create their home page.

I think that renaming Main to a department or organization name when you set up the wiki can make it clear that this web is their wiki's "root" web, rather than a wiki artifact. Users of existing wikis probably have already gotten accustomed to Main and should not be forced to change. I have renamed a Main web to a different name and I know it is painful in existing environments (user signatures don't use a macro for example, so you have to manually or programmatically edit every signature).

-- ArneJoris - 04 Oct 2010