Putting the FAQ link in with error messages?
We often *have* the answers in the FAQ, people aren't always finding them there, often because it hasn't occurred to them to look.
I was mentioned this to the last person who I helped with a Mailman problem, and he offered this brilliant suggestion: Why don't we print the FAQ (or at least the wiki link) with error messages generated by mailman?
Just a quick "For more information on this error, consult the documentation at http://wiki.list.org/x/Bw" or something along those lines.
I know, it's another line of work for the translators, and it won't solve the problems that aren't heralded by error messages, but hopefully it'll result in more people actually finding the information they need on their own!
Terri
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On Mar 28, 2009, at 11:10 PM, Terri Oda wrote:
We often *have* the answers in the FAQ, people aren't always finding
them there, often because it hasn't occurred to them to look.I was mentioned this to the last person who I helped with a Mailman
problem, and he offered this brilliant suggestion: Why don't we
print the FAQ (or at least the wiki link) with error messages
generated by mailman?Just a quick "For more information on this error, consult the
documentation at http://wiki.list.org/x/Bw" or something along those
lines.I know, it's another line of work for the translators, and it won't
solve the problems that aren't heralded by error messages, but
hopefully it'll result in more people actually finding the
information they need on their own!
This is a very interesting idea. When you say "error messages" do you
mean e.g. Python tracebacks and such? In that case, we may not have
to worry about translators, for example we don't translate log messages.
It would mean going through various exceptions that Mailman raises and
adding information to tie it to a FAQ entry (or as you point out, more
easily just the top wiki link). Tougher would be to attach FAQ links
to exceptions that Python throws that percolate up to the top
interpreter loop. Still, it's a really interesting idea to pursue,
and it would make for a neat general Python facility.
Barry
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Hello there!
On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 12:10:22AM -0400, Terri Oda wrote:
Just a quick "For more information on this error, consult the documentation at http://wiki.list.org/x/Bw" or something along those lines.
I'd like to throw in the idea of not using a wiki URL, but a more generic one that is http-redirected to the current, software-specific URL.
example:
output URL: http://www.list.org/faq/4.36
redirect to: -> http://wiki.list.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=4030705
cheers, Gero
PS: I'm more of a mailman user, therefore this is my first post here. :)
Barry Warsaw wrote:
This is a very interesting idea. When you say "error messages" do you mean e.g. Python tracebacks and such? In that case, we may not have to worry about translators, for example we don't translate log messages.
I had tracebacks in mind. If those are the easiest things to do, let's start there. :)
It would mean going through various exceptions that Mailman raises and adding information to tie it to a FAQ entry (or as you point out, more easily just the top wiki link).
Again, in the spirit of making this as easy as possible, let's just try to get the top wiki / doc link in there. For one, it's less likely to change.
Tougher would be to attach FAQ links to exceptions that Python throws that percolate up to the top interpreter loop. Still, it's a really interesting idea to pursue, and it would make for a neat general Python facility.
I'm curious to take a look myself, but I know I likely won't get to this 'till the end of the month, so if anyone else is curious, don't feel you'll be stepping on my toes!
Gero Eggers wrote:
I'd like to throw in the idea of not using a wiki URL, but a more generic one that is http-redirected to the current, software-specific URL.
example: output URL: http://www.list.org/faq/4.36
redirect to: -> http://wiki.list.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=4030705
I think the best URL for now would be having http://list.org/doc be something equivalent to what I have on http://wiki.list.org/display/DOC/Home
I do like the idea of making the FAQ have short links like that, though. The ones generated by the wiki aren't as easy to guess at. I imagine it wouldn't be hard to write a script...
Maybe I should take another stab at modernizing and reorganizing the web site? ;) [1]
Terri
participants (4)
-
Barry Warsaw -
Gero Eggers -
Stephen J. Turnbull -
Terri Oda