[pmwiki-users] Useability

The Editor editor at fast.st
Sun Nov 26 10:22:46 CST 2006


On 11/26/06, writeon1 <writeon1 at mchsi.com> wrote:
> After spending considerable time evaluating pmwiki, I came to two
> conclusions. (1) It's a great product, with add-ons that offer all the
> features and flexibility I could want, and (2) the time investment in
> learning to set up, use and maintain the system is more than I can
> afford. (Would that I were smarter.) The idea of creating a basic
> product and allowing users to add features as needed would work a lot
> better if adding features was a push-button affair. I hope that
> eventually the question of how to make configuring the product easier
> will be made the main thrust of development for a while. I'll look in
> again in a few months - I still think that of the wiki /cms systems I
> have looked at PMwiki would be the best for my purposes, if it were less
> demanding of the prospective administrator. Thanks,
> Brendan


Hi Brendan!

I just want to chime in that you are absolutely right about PmWiki in
terms of #1. It is a great product, and it can do about anything you
want--esp with the cookbook recipes.  But I would encourage you to
reconsider the second part of your conclusion.  I had virtually no
programming experience when I started with PmWiki, and found the
learning curve quite manageable.  And the maillist is extremely
helpful, with prompt to-the-point answers to questions.  If you take a
stab at PmWiki, you will find it easier than it may look at first.

In fact this is was what really hooked me. I remember downloading the
PmWiki zip file, unpacking it, and having it work almost instantly.
It was almost a shock after trying other systems.  As for the skins,
and various modules, most of them are also extremely simple.  Download
the file, add a line to your config file and it just works.  Making
backups, doing upgrades, etc., are all a breeze.  I switched from two
other popular systems (Drupal and Moodle) not because PmWiki had more
features but because it was EASIER to get to work.  I think you'll
find the same.

Just the same, a one-click recipe installation feature might be
doable.  I'll post a separate email to the developers list to see if
it won't generate some consideration to the possibility.

Cheers,
Caveman




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