[pmwiki-users] New PmWiki Features Page . . .

Ben Wilson dausha at gmail.com
Tue May 30 14:08:16 CDT 2006


On 5/30/06, Patrick R. Michaud <pmichaud at pobox.com> wrote:

[snip]

> Actually, I've been wondering exactly this -- instead of duplicating
> the feature list on pmwiki.org, perhaps we should start off the
> page with a link to PmWiki's feature list on WikiMatrix.  On a feature
> comparison basis, WikiMatrix consistently shows that PmWiki compares
> quite well on a feature basis.  Then on WikiMatrix we can (I think)
> create links from the individual features back to an appropriate
> anchor on the Features page (and from there into full documentation
> pages as appropriate).

Do you mean a "If you'd like to compare PmWiki to other wikis, the
[[Wiki Matrix->http://www.wikimatrix.org]] site is a good place to
start" sort of thing? Providing a comparison link isn't a bad idea.

> So, someone wanting a checklist of features can get it from WikiMatrix,
> someone wanting a prose-like summary of PmWiki's Philosophy and features
> can get it from the PmWiki.Features page, and detailed descriptions
> of specific features can be in the documentation, cookbook, or other
> location as appropriate.

Generally, I think it would be better to keep the features list in
house, rather than export it to a third-party site. I know PmWiki is
not a commercial/for-profit thing, but if it were a business, would
you rely on another site to be a primary source of information about
it? Especially when such a site is
less-disinterested-than-I-previously-thought.

While I've been toeing my own line about sticking to the features
list, John McGinnis has shown the need to add a key feature that
highlights the flexibility of PmWiki. John Rankin points out the
coherent design--what I would call a "clean" design. Both are parts of
PmWiki's philosophy and I suppose a bit of overlap between features
and philosophy is involved. This is especially true with Pm's comment
that the PmWiki philosophy is often cited.

So, here are two features that probably could be added to the Features
page, but with the overlap, it may be better to (:include:) rather
than add. One of my goals for the Feature page was that it could be
something a prospective user could print out and read and provide a
concise, thorough treatment of what PmWiki offers.

> > Second, this is not true duplication. The list of features themselves
> > are addressed, and the initial answers I posted were based on the
> > entries on that list.[3] However, the expounding was meant to provide
> > a clearer, narrative answer and link to more information. The WM site
> > does not give a clean interface for such narrative discussion.
>
> I totally agree that a narrative description of features is what I've
> been looking for from the Features page, and that it's more useful
> than a checklist (WikiMatrix style) or table.

I actually offer both by the Features and FeaturesAtAGlance pages--of
which elements of the latter page are (:include:)d in the former. So,
while the chart format is not very informative, it gives a visual
queue. The only thing I might think to do differently is provide links
between the charted features in the At a Glance page to the Features
page. That's a wee bit of effort that should probably wait until
there's a final decision.

-- 
Ben Wilson
"Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur"




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