[TYPO3-UG US] Status of TYPO3.us

[Alex Heizer]

Hi Zach,


Zach Davis wrote:

>
>
>I think Christopher's idea is a good one, and a good compromise -- why 
>not use the same template, integrated in three different ways, as an 
>example of different methods of putting together a template. We could 
>clearly label the approach Alex and others advocate as a basic or 
>foundational approach, but we could also make the other two approaches 
>(MTB and FTB) available as well and and note that they're more advanced. 
>I would be happy to do the extra work involved.
>
>Alex, how do you feel about this idea?
>
>  
>
That's what I was saying. The primary thing is to build the site in the 
traditional way so that the reader learns the foundation. Then, have a 
section that shows how to do it using automake, one that shows using the 
MTB method, one that shows the TV method, and we can add new sections 
each time a new time-saving extension comes out that helps us build 
sites quicker with less real knowledge needed. These sections would, 
ideally, highlight the differences between how the traditional way is 
done and how this hot new method makes your life easier. This way, we 
would provide the biggest service we can: information to compare which 
way would be best for each person, based on the solid foundation of what 
is really happening "under the hood". It's a lot easier to say "here's 
the proper way to do it, and why these things make TYPO3 work, and then 
here's a way to save these steps" than it is to say "look here's a 
flashy do-hickey, but now that you've learned all the shortcuts, forget 
all that and learn the right way." All these "new" ways of making 
templates do is hide the TS from the user, but the TS still needs to be 
there. Show them what it means, then each "new" way of making a template 
will naturally make sense, and you won't need to explain the 
fundamentals each time.

For those of us who already know how to make a site this is the slow, 
boring way to do it, and we all like doing the fun way. But it's really 
frustrating for a new user to have to struggle to find the right 
information because they made it 2/3 through a site design and realise 
they have no clue what they are really doing (which I have seen many 
times with people whose first journey into setting up a site in T3 was 
with TV). It's easy for us, who already know how to create a site, to 
modify our thinking to use automake or TV, because we have already done 
all that slow boring learning. We need to keep in mind that all newbies, 
at some point or another, need to go through the slow, boring learning, 
or else spend time asking the same questions on the mailinglists over 
and over again that the mailing list gets frustrated with.

So, yes, include all the different ways to make the site, but  make the 
"new" ways modular enough that we can add to them, and also present each 
way with benefits and disadvantages. Maybe have a whole section that 
just lists the new ways with a comparison for people to choose "which 
way is best for me?" That way the project can not only teach people how 
it works, but help them choose which is right for them.

Alex