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Date:      Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:03:04 -0400
From:      Dan Ponte <dcp1990@neptune.atopia.net>
To:        freebsd-www@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: new web site - bring back the old one
Message-ID:  <20051015220304.GA61284@neptune.atopia.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.63.0510151155290.96402@manganese.bos.dyndns.org>
References:  <4350D8D9.4040303@mail.ru> <200510151649.03865.danchev@spnet.net> <Pine.BSF.4.63.0510151155290.96402@manganese.bos.dyndns.org>

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On Sat, Oct 15, 2005 at 12:01:14PM -0400, Tim Wilde <twilde@dyndns.com> was witnessed plotting the following conspiracy:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> On Sat, 15 Oct 2005, George Danchev wrote:
> 
> >Also seconded. That have been said way too many times by way too many
> >people... nothing happend yet. Patches, comments and examples for the 
> >matter
> >of that were not even being discussed [1]. So do not even try to check it 
> >out
> >on any high resolution screens. Smash your high-res laptops, and your brand
> >new 16:9 24in screeny if you happend to have any ;-)
> 
> I don't understand what you're talking about a huge gap of whitespace. 
> I'm looking at it at 1600x1200 without any such "huge gap".  I see maybe 
> 20 pixels, and it does a good job of separating the sections of the page.
> 
> I think it's a far more professional looking and useful website than the 
> old one.  As many of the developers who've worked on it have said, the old 
> one was hideously over-cluttered, and had absolutely none of the qualities 
> one looks for in a usable user interface.  I could NEVER find the 
> handbook, FAQ, or mailing list links on the old page, now they're quick 
> and easy to find.
> 
> If you hate having to click on multiple links so much, bookmark the 
> sections that you use the most, and then you'll have the information right 
> in front of you.  The information is organized in a logical manner, it's 
> really not that hard to find, if you ignore the fact that the search 
> engine is next to useless (which hasn't changed from the old design, and 
> is being discussed).
> 
> The homepage of a web site is not designed for power users or people who 
> use that site frequently, at least not as its first audience.  The first 
> audience of a web site's homepage is NEW users, people who have never been 
> to the site before, or who do not use it frequently, and the new design 
> does a FAR better job than the old one of helping those users get into the 
> site, and into FreeBSD.  In that regard, I think it does its job 
> perfectly.
> 
And that is a big problem. I am willing to bet some money that most
visitors to freebsd.org *are* current users who use the materials on
the site as a reference. If you make a site pleasing to people who use
it most, new users will follow through.

Sites that cater to new users are fine for businesses and such with
marketing departments. Not for technical sites whose primary purpose
is to provide documentation and support for a product.

-Dan
-- 
Dan Ponte
http://www.theamigan.net/
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain."
		-- Lily Tomlin



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