Virtual spring cleaning

Space and infrastructure
1

Some of VHS’s online content could use a clean-up. I volunteer to bottom-line this and would like i) some discussion on the overall strategy, and ii) a couple of volunteers to help with the bits and pieces. Following are the areas I think need to be addressed. I am pinning this thread globally for a while to generate discussion.

  1. VHS rules / policies / bylaws / governance should be collected into a single location so they are clear and easy to find. Currently, they are spread across the FAQ, the membership page on Wordpress, a wiki page containing a “code of conduct”, minutes of the general meetings, and maybe other locations.

  2. The wiki is broken. We should decide if we want to invest the energy into fixing Dokuwiki or maybe consolidate on Wordpress to simplify platform / login management. Are we really using the full capability of a wiki, especially now that a lot of content is being generated on Talk?

  3. Some content on the wiki is becoming outdated.

  4. There are some great topics here on Talk that get buried in the stream. Could we create a new curated “Reference” category? Who would curate and what would be the criteria for inclusion?

  5. Other areas that could use attention?

5 Likes
3

Awesome. Agreed.

I’ve argued the case before, but a wiki is a necessary tool that can’t be replaced with Wordpress or forums.

I’ve been a little bit discourage with the web stuff at VHS lately so I haven’t pushed this being fixed as hard as I could.

Here’s the deal:
Before, we got a new spambot signing up every 5 minutes or so. When we changed servers, this stopped happening. I assumed it was the updating of Dokuwiki, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.
When new users sign up on Dokuwiki, the captcha does not accept the proper answer.
If a new user is created by an admin and the password set, that new still user still cannot login.

What the root cause is:
The new server is uses Docker and Nginx. I believe Dokuwiki is not playing nice with one of those. Probably Nginx, it doesn’t like to play nice with most web apps.

Our Wordpress install won’t update, likely for the same reasons.

What we need:
One (1) Nginx wizard to take a look at the install. Assuming that is fixed, our spambot problem will return. We probably need a person with basic-to-moderate PHP ability to add a custom field on the login page (eg. “What city are we in?”).

Actionable items:
If you want to help out with this, contact someone with access to that server. I believe @TyIsI @garthomite @funvill

Fixing it so new blood can come in and edit will go a long way to this. Even last year, people had to message someone to get granted edit writes, and that was a huge barrier to entry.

If we take steps to unify the theme and make it look less crappy, that might help, too.

Sounds like a great use of a wiki page :smile:

I will totally help with this.

1 Like
4

Yes please.

New people do not know how things work and what is appropriate at VHS, and when they guess wrong they are not always corrected in the most polite or appropriate way. Our verbal walk thoughts of the space are varied and depending on how busy/knowledgeable the person that is giving the tour is, new members will get a widely different experiences. There is no central place where for people to look up policy and rules that govern the space. All of these problems make becoming a VHS member that much harder for new people. This reduces membership and causes friction between members.

I had started creating a VHS handbook. This would be a living google document that people get when they become a VHS member. This document would outlines what it is to be a VHS member, a code of conduct, and the operating procedures for running the Vancouver Hackspace. I got heavily discouraged at the last QGM and abandoned this project.

This document could have notes and links to specific sections and would grow as our organization would grow. I think this should be a google doc (or embedded single page document) instead of a wiki as a wiki can be overwhelming to new members as the information is scattered across the entire site.

Examples section:

  • How to become a key holder
  • How to open the space as a keyholder
  • How to close the space as a keyholder
  • The difference between a member, keyholder, and a bottom liner,
  • How to run an event
  • How to run a workshop
  • How to pay your membership dues.
  • History of VHS
  • Committees at VHS
    • How you join a committee
  • How you start a committee
  • VHS and press
  • VHS logos and design files.
  • VHS github
  • How to submit a GM proposal
  • etc…

This is the old version that I made back when we were at 45 west. I made this as a document that I could copy and past responses to people that asked questions in the mailing list. It is more than out dated.

This is the part I would have the most interest in helping with.

I am a fan of killing the wiki and replacing it with TALK/Website pages. We had this conversation before and I didn’t feel like pushing it.

I have no interest in updating a wiki, or VHS wiki.

I am really hesitant to create more categories on TALK. I find that they add to the confusion and the learning curve of TALK. Instead I would suggest having a single page on the website as your reference section that links to specific topics in TALK.

The VHS handbook can have link outs to the specific topics as well acting as the central reference location for information too.

This is an example of a reference post that I have made on TALK. Every post in this series also links back to this reference post.

Thank you for taking this on.

5

@garthomite fixed the wiki yesterday. He is a Wizard.

The new template also looks way better.

Everyone go edit the wiki!

Use the “sitemap” button on the top right to get a better handle on all of the existing pages so that we can make them cohesive.

1 Like
6

Started updating the events and announcement category page with helpful info about running a workshop at VHS

This can moved as needed.

1 Like
7

Notes from a review of the Wordpress site. Unless there are objections, I will start editing these one by one, then turn my attention to the wiki.

RSS feed on website appears to be broken. Remove?

Services link on website includes IRC. Is that still active? Have we officially moved to Slack? If so, I will replace the link.

Add the new Member site to services section.

I don’t find the Categories particularly useful. What’s the difference between a Course and Event? Or a Hack and a Kit? Suggest revising the categories to be more project specific, e.g. Arduino, Quadcopter, RC, HAM Radio, 3D printing, etc. This could be a can of worms to go back through old content though.

Hackerspaces list on the website is pretty short. Perhaps replace this with a link to the recent Talk thread?

Not sure the long Archives list is adding much value and it creates a lot of white space on the page. Remove or at least shorten to the last few months.

Remove Mailing Lists from the main menu. It doesn’t need to take up prime real estate any more and could be archived in the wiki.

Events Calendar page is empty. Is it broken? Do we need this link in the nav bar considering the calendar is embedded on the side of every page?

Be clear about under age attendance.

On the Membership page, consider adding Non Member as a new box with bullets on what a non member can do at the space. Currently, the following line under Fine Print could be interpreted as being able to use the lathe or laser cutter as long as a member lets them in. “Non-members can use the space on a drop-in basis by arrangement with keyholders and at open nights, and are invited to donate to help cover costs.”

I would like to encourage more linking to content on Talk (such as the Events thread that @funvill created above). I think Talk does a great job of demonstrating how active VHS is and the diversity of members. It also makes it really easy for people to comment and get involved. Discretion must be exercised in determining what type of content is suitable for Talk and what should get a dedicated page on Wordpress, but I think we can manage that as we go. If something is out of place, someone will move it.

Blue sky comment: The Wordpress theme is pretty boring. Is there any chance we have someone with WP theme skills who might have the time to give us an upgrade? Or perhaps we can customize a free WP theme in which case we just need a new banner designed? Maybe a new homework contest?

1 Like
8

Fixed if possible!

I have no problem with this. Anyone else? @TyIsI?

[quote=“ashley, post:7, topic:1821”]
I don’t find the Categories particularly useful. What’s the difference between a Course and Event? Or a Hack and a Kit?
[/quote]I agree. Pruning it down might be a better solution. Looking at the front page, we might be able to get away with Events, Projects, and Media Releases. For projects, we should get in the habit of posting teasers on the front page, and then linking to project logs on Talk. @miststlkr’s crown is a good example and I’m going to get on his case to post a couple pictures and a couple sentences about it.

[quote=“ashley, post:7, topic:1821”]
On the Membership page, consider adding Non Member as a new box with bullets on what a non member can do at the space. Currently, the following line under Fine Print could be interpreted as being able to use the lathe or laser cutter as long as a member lets them in. “Non-members can use the space on a drop-in basis by arrangement with keyholders and at open nights, and are invited to donate to help cover costs.”
[/quote] Yeah, I’m not really happy with how that’s worded.
Non-member can really come in any time VHS is open, and use hand-tools basically. Might be worth emphasizing that you must be let into the building, while all members have their very own door code.

9

Hey, do we have namespaces working in dokuWiki?

If the inventory project ends up packing a lot of new pages into the wiki
it would be good to have them partitioned off.

10

Yup.

Take a look here:

http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=start&do=index

All of the folders at the top are their own namespace. I’ve tried to sort all of the old old old stuff into appropriate categories, it used to all just be a mess in the top level.

To set them, just create a new page with a colon in the name. Like so:
http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=tutorials:pcb_design_tips

11

For reorganizing stuff, I also wrote a Greasemonkey / Tampermonkey script that adds on option on the right side of the screen to move pages instead of just edit/delete. An important feature, I feel.

http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=hacks:dokuwiki-kinda-blows

Haven’t tested it on the latest version of Dokuwiki, but it probably still works.

12

People are still using IRC, so I would advice against removing IRC, and I would suggest holding off on listing Slack until we have an automated invitation system, or have it point to a page with instructions.

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13

Check the membership system as of this morning :wink:

14

Well, if the invite system is publicly available, go ahead and list it! :wink:

1 Like
15

I find the URL of your greasemonkey link ironic since you have argued to keep the wiki. I agree with @funvill that it’s uninviting and a PITA to create / edit content on. I know you’ve all had this debate before, so just my two cents, but while Talk and Wordpress don’t have all the functionality of a wiki, they have one major advantage…they are getting used!

The wiki, in my opinion, is an albatross that we keep trying to get people to use. I started doing a review of the content and got overwhelmed at the number of half finished projects and content stubs. It feels like a loosing battle. I say cut it loose and let’s use Talk to showcase cool stuff. Give people a window of opportunity to rescue their content from the wiki and start a Talk thread. If content merits a more permanent home, then create a Wordpress page. We could, for example, have a curated page of projects that link to Talk threads. Readers will get the benefit of the discussion that happens on Talk. What else does the wiki do for us that we can’t replicate?

1 Like
16

I think a wiki is a great tool that could help us, but I never said that Dokuwiki is the one for us :wink:

[quote=“ashley, post:15, topic:1821”]
The wiki, in my opinion, is an albatross that we keep trying to get people to use. I started doing a review of the content and got overwhelmed at the number of half finished projects and content stubs.
[/quote]I agree!
I was a new member when I cleaned it up, so I didn’t feel comfortable deleting a lot of stuff. I have a much better idea of what the junk is now, and I can do some pretty heavy purging. We have backups, too.

The front page of the wiki has never been well organized, and I think that’s a pretty big turn-off. If someone could basically scrap it and clearly lay out the important bits of VHS, that would be great.

Pages like the “local supplier” list are shining examples of what the wiki should be. It’s an amazing resource, and I don’t believe any of our other web services are appropriate for taking its place.

Totally different note:
The ViVO website is pretty great and we should be more like them: http://www.vivomediaarts.com/
Especially the membership page

17

I still don’t understand why content like “local suppliers” couldn’t be a page on Wordpress. The Vivo website is lovely, and I’ll point out that it appears to live on one system. It’s cohesive. I’m not sure that the whole “community editing” aspect of a wiki is something we should desire. So far it has produced an unflattering mishmash of content.

I’m proposing an alternate approach / experiment. Generate ideas / discussion / content / links on Talk from the broad community, and then a smaller group of volunteers will curate that onto the main website as appropriate. The list of local suppliers could have been created this way also and people might still be adding to it, providing reviews and comments, etc. It cleans up the content, reduces the number of platforms we need to maintain, deals with the spambot issue, doesn’t require people to create yet another login, and focuses attention where the real action is. Bottom line for me, Talk makes us look good, the wiki does not.

1 Like
18

The bot problem has been fixed, we have no gotten a single spambot registration since October.

Anybody can register and login now.
We’ve had a few problems with Dokuwiki breaking because Dokuwiki is a pretty poorly written, but some fixes have been implemented, and it’s looking good so far.

I don’t actually believe this ever works. It’s constant and thankless, and that’s the kind of thing that VHS isn’t really great at keeping up with.

I spent 20 minutes deleting a whole bunch of pages. Tell me if this is still unmanageable:
http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=todo&do=index

See here for what I deleted BTW in case anyone wants some of those pages back:
http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=todo&do=recent

One of the things that I noticed is that pages intended to be “live” like group order pages, wishlists, etc, don’t work in the format and quickly stagnate. Definite better to use Talk for those ones.

There was also a list that I started last year on what needs to be done to the wiki to make it friendly:
http://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=todo

All of your criticism is on there already, but I didn’t have anyone else interested in helping with improving the internet presence of VHS at the time and burnt out.

What I’m saying with the above, is that I totally think the wiki is salvageable… Provided someone is willing to do the legwork. I think it there is much less work involved and it is more future-proof than trying to migrate everything to Wordpress. If you still disagree, I will not argue any more, but I think it’s a huge mistake.

edit: I would also be willing to delve into the Dokuwiki code to try and share accounts with some of our other services.

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19

Just to get it off of my chest: in my opnion/experience, part of the burn out problem is nay-sayers-versus-doers.

Some thoughts/brain farts:

  • I think having the content on the website is a good idea.
  • The ease of the Wiki is also a major (if not huge) factor that made it successful.
  • Curation requires commitment and commitment is hard.
  • Having clear guidelines on what content goes where is a good way to
    solve the “rogue”/misplaced content problem.
  • Talk is not a Wiki. (No, don’t even.)
  • Wordpress is also not a Wiki.
  • Wordpress is not a forum.
  • Talk is not a blogging platform. (No, don’t even.)

The solution? As usual, it’s probably somewhere in between! How about we have an workgroup of sorts that figures out the strategy of how we’re going to do things. It’s a do-ocracy! We can’t expect dedicated people to deal with stuff; it’s much more organic. However if we define the guidelines on how we operate; if we create a matrix of what-goes-where, it’s going to be easier to curate. We can then also give people faster access to the blog/whatnot. Maybe integrate Wiki content into the website so it’s more easily/readily accessible?

Just some thoughts.

1 Like