Item13315: Foswiki 1.2 new user experience issues.

Capture new user experiences issues here.

Fixed	Issue
	Needing to manually add the BaseUserMapping user to Configure auth users is very confusing
	AdminGroup screen is very confusing with big JOIN/LEAVE button which makes no sense for the AdminUser
(maybe)	I still do not understand the idea of creating a user before running configure. It makes no sense and people will do it in the wrong order
(maybe)	I need top install a Foswiki and then migrate webs over - after it works. The old webs are RCS based. But the bootstrap forces me to register a person before running configure. So it becomes plaintext based and then I have a mess on my hands. Again - configure needs to be run before you start creating and changing topics. The old configure only showed the essential settings the first time you ran it. That guided you through the steps
	The password you can store by running htpasswd and then copy paste some hash into configure. That is geek level 10. That sucks. And I doubt many will understand what you try to do
	Configure still talks about some sudo user - what sudo users? How does a new installer know about sudo user? And isn't that what you try to get rid of
	When you run Foswiki the first time as AdminUser you are still AdminUser after registration. That confused me. That will confuse everyone.
	AdminGroup topic still talks about sudo login. What is that - people will ask if they do not know the history of Foswiki

-- GeorgeClark - 20 Mar 2015

I'm moving some of these points into some discussion. I have no idea how to "fix" some of them.

I still do not understand the idea of creating a user before running configure. It makes no sense and people will do it in the wrong order

The order really doesn't matter. Maybe it's just documentation. You need 1 of 3 possible things set for continued access to configure. A usable WikiName in {FeatureAccess}{Configure} OR A usable wikiname added to the AdminGroup OR a configured sudo password (discouraged). Any of this can happen in any order as long as you don't lose your current Admin session.

• The bootstrap message does say to configure first, then register, so this was my mistake talking you through the process. I didn't think of the impact on the store.

I need top install a Foswiki and then migrate webs over - after it works. The old webs are RCS based. But the bootstrap forces me to register a person before running configure. So it becomes plaintext based and then I have a mess on my hands. Again - configure needs to be run before you start creating and changing topics. The old configure only showed the essential settings the first time you ran it. That guided you through the steps

As far as showing only the necessary settings. That's now automated by bootstrap. Basically there are no settings that must be configured before foswiki can be used. You definitely do not have to register before running configure. We can fix that part in the documentation. But the Store selection is a really difficult one. Maybe put an ERROR on the Store selection if no revision files are found, saying "You must Choose, but Choose wisely, Indiana". or we make the default RCS, which is good for migrations, and is poor for new sites.

• I've added a warning message. If PlainFile is selected on a "pristine" system, then it warns that if you intend to migrate old data, be sure to select the RCS Store.
• As far as the order of configure or register, the bootstrap banner does say to configure first, then register. So I think that minimizes this issue.

The password you can store by running htpasswd and then copy paste some hash into configure. That is geek level 10. That sucks. And I doubt many will understand what you try to do

Completely totally 150% true. I've been trying to find a js library that would hash the password client side, so we don't pass such a critical password clear text.

Configure still talks about some sudo user - what sudo users? How does a new installer know about sudo user? And isn't that what you try to get rid of

Probably a documentation fix. I don't think we can 100% get rid of it. IIRC, Crawford wanted to completely remove it. But without it, fixing really is relegated to editing files if things go wrong. I think it would be too major a change to just nuke it.

When you run Foswiki the first time as AdminUser you are still AdminUser after registration. That confused me. That will confuse everyone.

I think it works that way today. If you register as a guest, you become the new user. But if you are already signed in, registering doesn't change your auth. And if we clear the Admin session, then users are going to lock themselves out. We really need that initial admin session to stick.

AdminGroup topic still talks about sudo login. What is that - people will ask if they do not know the history of Foswiki

I tried to clean up that topic a bit. If no {Password} is configured, it is no longer mentioned. Maybe fixed?

-- Main.GeorgeClark - 21 Mar 2015 - 01:19

Kenneth, I opened this task based upon your feedback. I believe these issues have all been addressed. Please close the task if you are satisfied. Thanks

-- GeorgeClark - 11 May 2015

No feedback for 2+ months, about to start Beta 2. Closing. Please reopen if issues still remain.

-- GeorgeClark - 14 Jun 2015

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