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Main Page Updates

Post by kentsmith9
This thread is to discuss the changes we believe should be made to the main Wiki page.

One proposal is to link the glossary page toward the top of the main page. It is on the page already. IMHO, I am not sure that page is our most educational page relative to questions or editor mistakes.

Maybe we need to make a page of "Common Mistakes" and list things like Editors start editing before reading x, y, and z.
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Post by kentsmith9
txemt wrote:Also, cut down on the links within the various pages (one can easily get lost in the Wiki).
The one comment I will make on your suggestions is relative to Wikilinks. While I agree the first page is a bit overwhelming and I like some of your recommendations, your comment further down to simply remove links on a page is not necessarily the best solution. Wikipedia as an example uses the concept that you can read any page to fully understand the topic presented. Any term that is not common knowledge (or has a different meaning in that article) should be linked to an article that describes that term in more detail. Also more advanced or detailed descriptions should be put into separate articles. I think we have been doing that pretty well in articles we have created and updated in the last year.
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Post by kentsmith9
I agree finding things is one of the biggest problems, but remember if you are searching for something with a term you believe should find it, post a comment in the Improve Wiki Searches thread so others in the future can find what you could not.

We could certainly simplify the Main page to better isolate the details until you request it. I would envision something with sections on the main page like:

* Welcome to Waze - what is it all about...
* Information for the typical driver - how to use Waze as a map, navigation, and social interaction device
* Reporting issues with the map - for those who want to point out issues, but not yet edit
* Getting into map editing - here is where we can start diving deeply into the different elements

Hopefully everything else could be deeper under one of those elements, but all of them would come up on a search.
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Post by kentsmith9
I am purposely necro bumping this post. It was a discussion we started a long time ago, but have not done anything on it yet. If anyone has specific ideas, we can each create a sub page on our own user page and present it to the group to get feedback. If anyone is unsure how to do that you can reply here or send me a PM.
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Post by Kuhlkatz
I always thought the main page acted as a good deterrent for not reading the Wiki.
It looked busier than a toddler on a sugar high....

+1 for tackling this.
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Post by txemt
I say most of the links on the first page disappear with some exceptions which I'm detailing now:

Get rid of the "Waze" section in the upper left hand corner, "You can make Waze even better" section, and "problems, bugs, and limitations" section.

Get rid of the links in the "Getting started" section and post the glossary page link here.
In the glossary, add a a link about "how to improve Waze." That way, newbies aren't overwhelmed with having to find stuff or where to go. I think it should read more like a book, instead of a website (and I know we're on the internet), but it helps keep the complexity down. Just like a book, the further you read into it, the more you learn, so the more advanced stuff may be buried a little deeper into the Wiki. Also, cut down on the links within the various pages (one can easily get lost in the Wiki).
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Post by txemt
kentsmith9 wrote:While I agree the first page is a bit overwhelming and I like some of your recommendations, your comment further down to simply remove links on a page is not necessarily the best solution. Wikipedia as an example uses the concept that you can read any page to fully understand the topic presented.
I understand that, but I think having all of those links on the introduction page is just.....too much, too overwhelming, which is why I recommend it to the glossary page or even create a "Table of Contents" page that then has all of the various links to the various topics. I think even a TOC page paired with a "Glossary page" would help a lot with the navigation of the Wiki.

I think that introduction to Waze page should be exactly that. "Hi, welcome to Waze, yadda yadda yadda. If you're interested in learning more about map editing, please click HERE" then the user is directed to another page that explains everything or at least gives some direction/order of the rest of the Wiki. I find it hard, sometimes, as an experienced editor to find some stuff in the Wiki and it seems I keep going in circles between the "Getting started" and "help improve Waze" links. I might be looking for one thing that I think is in one section, then click on it to discover it's not there, so it's in the other section, which I click, then a couple of clicks later, I'm back to "getting started" and "help improve Waze" options and my only thought is "damn, I'm at this node again?" :)
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