Re: [libreoffice-design] Topic for design team to investigate: Content hosting consolidation on ask.libreoffice.org

As a user of libreoffice interested in searching for an available
extension, the logical place to look is libreoffice.org. While
ask.libreoffice.org may be easy for contributors to upload and discuss
extensions,  it is a nightmare to navigate for someone simply trying to
find available extensions, and I seriously doubt it can be configured in
such a way as to make the search pleasant.

The only way, architecturally, that I see ask.libreoffice.org being able to
play a role in an extension repository, is if the uploaded extensions were
stored to a remotely queriable database for access by a separate front end
at libreoffice.org. In fact, it would be really great if the
ask.libreoffice.org message board could also be embedded in this front end,
to make for a seamless UX.

On Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 10:02 AM MiguelAngel <mariosv@miguelangel.mobi> wrote:

> Hi Bjoern,
>
> I have been at ask since the beginning, so let me think that I can talk
> with some knowledge.
>
> Is it successful? Apparently maybe, many users is the only place they
> know. But many people remains in the AOo forums specially volunteers
> because don't like Ask.
>
> For me Its usability is far from optimal.Basics like messages from
> threads, badly works.
>
> IMHO, unless Ask has some hidden capabilities for that purpose, I cannot
> see how it can serve to improve the current situation for extensions and
> templates. Sure I need to review the graduation of my contact lenses.:)
>
> Anyway, if it's so good or the better solution in this situation, I
> think you don't need of anyone for that, so please just do it. We can
> live with two places at once.
>
> Miguel Ángel
>
> El 12/10/18 a las 1:12, Bjoern Michaelsen escribió:
> > Hi Miguel,
> >
> > (you do not seem to be subscribed to the design@ list, so others will
> not see
> > your mail. I will reply anyway, but please consider subscribing to the
> mailing
> > list when discussing there.)
> >
> > On Thu, Oct 11, 2018 at 10:56:43PM +0200, Miguel Ángel Ríos Vázquez
> wrote:
> > > Can we really think about using Ask for that?
> > yes. The problems are well-known, have repeatedly communicated in the
> project
> > since at least 2013. There really isnt any news here. Unfortunately,
> there has
> > been little movement, the community around the old extension webpage did
> not
> > grow despite efforts to do so and even external commercial support wasnt
> > unlocking the situation.
> >
> > OTOH, my mail clearly stated that I would like to invite the design team
> to
> > consider thinking outside of the box and ALSO think about
> ask.libreoffice.org
> > as a platform. This e.g. doesnt mean that the old Plone site _needs_ to
> die --
> > but it should not be the only platform considered to provide the much
> needed
> > content hosting.
> >
> > If this results in three to four people volunteering to push the old page
> > forward in a coordinated effort, I am a happy bunny. BUT: Given this has
> been
> > tried since 2013 at least and given the feedback I heard from even
> commercial
> > suppliers about the state of things, I am not too optimistic.
> >
> > > My impression is that it is not even very well accepted as a forum. Not
> an
> > > example of success.
> > Impressions are odd in that. ask.libreoffice.org is certainly the most
> > successful forum LibreOffice currently hosts.
> >
> > https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/users/  shows currently 1547 pages of 30
> users
> > each, so >45.000 registered accounts on ask.libreoffice.org. For
> comparison:
> > wiki.documentfoundation.org has ~17.000 accounts. I'd assume all other
> TDF
> > infra has less accounts.
> >
> > https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questions/  has >29.000 _english_
> questions
> > alone. For comparision: wiki.documentfoundation.org has ~22.000 pages
> in all
> > languages.
> >
> > While there is always room for improvement, ask.libreoffice.org is our
> most
> > successful platform -- by far.
> >
> > > And on the other hand we could be more thankful with the volunteer work
> of
> > > the people in the project, whether we like it or not.
> > That is also true for those content creators trying to use the extension
> > website to publish content. I posted some random tweets that show their
> > experience. Unfortunately, that feedback isnt too hard to find and has
> been
> > around for years. People uploading their first extension or template are
> > newcomers to the community -- and as active contributors we should make
> sure
> > their experience is not too aweful. The tweets -- together with the fact
> that
> > so many extensions and templates are hosted elsewhere (e.g. on github)
> shows
> > that we are loosing contributors and miss the opportunity to integrate
> them
> > with the wider community. We let those future contributors down.
> >
> >
> > So: tl;dr: I encouraged the design team to look ALSO look at
> ask.libreoffice.org
> > for allowing content publication, esp. since we had good past experience
> with
> > getting commercial support for it for well-defined feature requests. That
> > doesnt rule out Plone as a platform should we (finally) find enough
> volunteers
> > for it to gain some more inertia. So if you like the old extension site,
> feel free
> > to contribute to it (and find some others to do the same).
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Bjoern
>
>
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