Hi
2009/3/28 Philip Olson <phi...@roshambo.org>
>
> We've discussed our comment system a few times but let's finally do
> something about it. Let's first discuss what our ideal user interactive
> system would be, then design a system while keeping in mind our resource
> limitations.
>
Well, I like to start by looking at the existing system.
So from a quick analysis, the types of user notes we currently see are:
Comments to enhance the documentation: i.e. expanded code examples, use
cases.
Comments to correct the docs: fix typos, report changed behaviour
Comments to correct/enhance previous user note(s)
Comments with a link to article/blog post
Comments asking for help
Which in my view breaks down to the following functionality:
Report errors:
redirect to bug report (online editor later)?
Request help:
redirect to a 'where to get help' page?
Comment:
Auto tagged with the relevant PHP function/method?
Optional 'code snippet' tag ?
Optional 'hyperlink' tag ?
So I agree with you that the users seem to want a code snippets/tips/etc
repository.
When you take out the error reports and help requests, a code
snippets/tips/etc repository is left.
Not sure about using tags though, I don't quite see what your goal is with
tags. It's cool and all that but what's the benefit, when comments are
linked specifically to a doc on paragraph/section level? Or are you thinking
of accessing comments through a separate interface as well, without needing
to go through the doc pages? That could be interesting :)
Voting, I agree would be very useful. It should be possible to vote down a
comment also imo, let the negative votes of users tell us which comments
might need attention. And the high scoring comments will hopefully be the
most useful.
Aha, I now understand how tags could be used. An excellent code snippet for
PHP 5.3 for example could be irrelevant (unavailable) for PHP 5.2. It would
be nice to filter comments by versions, and I guess if I think about it
further I'll find other examples of useful tags...
I'm just thinking out loud here, a 'first impression' response.
Juliette
