I just posted another matter which really is not about using or hacking TW as much as it is about the development of TW itself. I’ve considered such issues to really belong in the github Discussions forum but… there just isn’t any discussion there so what’s the point.
For this reason, I’d like to propose a new category here, dedicated to discussions about just that i.e the development of TW itself.
Perhaps a related question: should we switch off GitHub discussions for TW5?
They haven’t been particularly successful for us, and it would simplify the landscape for end users and give them less bewildering choices.
While that makes sense, one thing that worries me is if end users come here and are intimidated by the overly technical discussions. I frankly experience this when I see things like:
…and I fear it might be offputting if we have even more such jargon.
Is it perhaps possible to, within talk.tiddlywiki, split the discussions into a non-coder side and a coder side? Perhaps sort the various categories we have into either (or both)? And then the user could select to show not only a single category at a time but a group of categories?
Considering how the overarching goal is to empower regular folks then I think this is an important matter.
Hmmm I am not sure don’t have much sympathy for the idea of trying to hide technical material in case it is intimidating for certain users. How can we accommodate community members who cannot tolerate the legitimate needs of others?
The thing is that both the examples you posted are end user questions; they are not developer discussions
“Hmmm” indeed
Somehow I expressed my point poorly. My point is not (at all) to prevent those who have technical needs from expressing them. My point is to not intimidate anyone by providing some solution that accommodates to both groups.
TW obviously turns both to non-coders and coders and the software even potentially integrates with a lot of 3d party solutions in a way that most other software doesn’t. But imagine going to the “official help forum” for, say, Spotify, and there was discussion about the underlying Python implementation of it, or that a gang of sound technicians keeps bringing up questions about special integrations for professional sound studios. These can all be end users, but for us I would like for there to be different ways to access the discussions based on what the visitor prefers, that’s all. Not sure the discussion software can do that though…
@twMat the examples you gave of configuring SSL and using savers are not at all like finding a discussion about Python because they are both end user concerns. Perhaps technical ones, but there are a lot of people out there who (say) know how to configure SSL on a website but are not “coders” in the sense of considering themselves programmers.
If you’ve got one group of people who have a problem with the visibility of another group of people then the issue really seems to lie with the first group.
To be clear, I accept your point that technical discussions can be intimidating, but I struggle to see how we can go much further than the existing separation between JavaScript at GitHub and everything else here.
Just FYI, as a user who eschews the more technical stuff here: I don’t think it an issue. It is good people who can do that stuff can sing.
I’d say, more, we need clearer upfront info such that someone who isn’t au-fait with technical can still find their way to post and never feel like an idiot.
I can expand on this if you want
TT
@twMat I understand and sympathize with your concern. But I agree with @jeremyruston .
My approach is simple. I open the forum. I ignore the entries that I don’t think pertain to me.
I know people who would be put off by words like viewtemplate, stylesheet, macro, and editortoolbar. How far do we go with that? I think it is just easier to trust users to gravitate toward what they are looking for than for us to try to figure out exactly where the bar needs to be.
