User:NikosA

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Revision as of 15:29, 2 February 2013 by ⚠️NikosA (talk | contribs) (→‎Better typography: move Categories below ToC)
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Nikos Alexandris

Other userpages

Userpage at OSGeo's wiki

Contact

nik at nikosalexandris dot net

Scratching ideas for the GRASS-wiki

Various ideas discussed with <http://archi.tect.gr/>

Testing will take place on (...not sure! :-?):

GRASS-Wiki content maintainance

Various issues

To list...

Upon the use of Templates =

True, content is the foremost essence. In order to ease off content reviewing and management, WikiMedia, upon which the GRASS-Wiki relies, has the Special Pages section. Still, there is a significant need for user input to control the content. Towards a better and easier maintainance mechanism, it might be useful to setup as much as possible Templates which can be used easily across the entire GRASS-Wiki to mark pages and notify readers.

For example, it is not always easy to discriminate between truely OutDated content or simply content that refers to an older version of GRASS. In this case, a notification indicating that the content refers to an older version of GRASS (be it GRASS 5.x) would be, perhaps, a smarter solution than simly marking the page as old. Alternatively, or in addition to a Template, a corresponding Category should be created.

There is, in my opinion, a natural need for some concrete, short, useful set of basic Templates. There are already several Templates. However, the influence in organising the content will be more effective, if the Templates adhere to a basic set of universal rules (think of appearance that invites to get involved) and delivers in a concrete way the "message" (think of short, rational, meaningful notification and/or explanations).

Towards this scope, I support the creation and collection of Templates to cover, if not all, at least the very basic needs to help tag the content.


GRASS-Wiki styling

  • style the tab-bar to approach the grass-gis website?


Ideas for an alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram

File:Current grasswiki logo.png
The current GRASS-Wiki logo... is where?
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram
Alternative GRASS-Wiki logogram

GRASS-Wiki native colors

Should GRASS-Wiki pages wear GRASS' native colors?

Or else... ?

Some random example: light grey font-color (#dcdcdc), green border (#4da948)

Better typography

Review and possibly alter:

  • linespacing (between hierarchy elements!)
  • indentation of code blocks -- might improve readability
  • (non-code) text wrapping -- narrower body text column, easier to read
  • move ToC on the right, make it fixed! This will "save" some long pages!
  • move Categories right below the ToC -- also useful inside long pages


Some proof-of-clean-typography screenshots

First impressions of a custom css designed by <http://archi.tect.gr/>

Holistic Look & Feel

GRASS-Wiki, better typography!

GRASS-Wiki, better typography
GRASS-Wiki, better typography


GRASS-Wiki, better typography
GRASS-Wiki, better typography

Elements

The very left column is like a Wiki's connection terminal -- it should look and act like that for the user. It should also clearly state GRASS-GIS' identity.

GRASS-Wiki, the main Toolboxes on the left should state GRASS-GIS' robust, clean and open identity
GRASS-Wiki, the main Toolboxes on the left should state GRASS-GIS' robust, clean and open identity


Better typography is not only about aesthetics. It's about readability and making things easier to study. The screenshot below speaks for itself. Hint: the ToC is always accessible, following the user's eyes!

GRASS-Wiki, better typography, ToC follows scrolling down and therefore always visible
GRASS-Wiki, better typography, ToC follows scrolling down and therefore always visible


The Table of Contents is a must have for page-content organisation and navigation. Can it be *always* accessible while not distracting the user from reading when not required? Yes, it can.

GRASS-Wiki, semi-transparent ToC, fixed on the right
GRASS-Wiki, semi-transparent ToC, fixed on the right
GRASS-Wiki, clean ToC when hovering over with mouse pointer, fixed on the right
GRASS-Wiki, clean ToC when hovering over with mouse pointer, fixed on the right


The Categories bar, finally can receive the attention it deserves!

GRASS-Wiki, clean and attractive Categories bar
GRASS-Wiki, clean and attractive Categories bar


Related sources:

Distance between ToC and 1st Section

Match Media-Wiki's bigger distance from ToC to 1st Section!

GRASS-Wiki, distance between ToC and 1st Section
GRASS-Wiki, distance between ToC and 1st Section
Media-Wiki, distance between ToC and 1st Section
Media-Wiki, distance between ToC and 1st Section

Distance between Sections

Seems to be the same, for some reason, anyhow, some lengthy GRASS-pages look overfilled/noisy!

GRASS-Wiki, distance between Sections
Media-Wiki, distance between Sections

The GRASS-Wiki Special Pages are nicely structured, easy to read. Is there, and what exactly, a formatting difference with the "dafault" GRASS-Wiki pages?

Distance between Sections in GRASS-Wiki's Special Pages page
Distance between Sections in GRASS-Wiki's Special Pages page

Various Links