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Offline AATW

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Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« on: February 08, 2018, 03:36:45 PM »
On the home page the Wiki link is to the right of the Forum link.
I just see a lot of people signing up and their first post is asking something which is dealt with in the Wiki.
Just wondering if swapping these so the Wiki is first would encourage them to go there before signing up and posting things like that.

Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2018, 05:17:09 PM »
The wiki isn't the most important part of the site. It is slightly more important than the library and pretty much everything is more important than the shop.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2018, 05:24:12 PM »
The wiki isn't the most important part of the site.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I do wonder how we should establish importance. The Wiki is by far the most visited part of the site, both in terms of total visits and unique users.
Read the FAQ before asking your question - chances are we already addressed it.
Follow the Flat Earth Society on Twitter and Facebook!

If we are not speculating then we must assume

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2018, 06:09:22 PM »
Why do we want wiki visitors? What does a wiki visitor contribute?
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Offline Lord Dave

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2018, 06:21:03 PM »
Why do we want wiki visitors? What does a wiki visitor contribute?
Its one less question or one block of copy pasta that we does not need answering.
If you are going to DebOOonK an expert then you have to at least provide a source with credentials of equal or greater relevance. Even then, it merely shows that some experts disagree with each other.

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Offline PickYerPoison

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2018, 06:21:27 PM »
Why do we want wiki visitors? What does a wiki visitor contribute?

I think it's more about what they don't contribute, which are questions like these:

hi guys I'm doing a project on the flat earth vs. round earth i was wondering if anyone could give me or refer me to a list of evidence proving the earth is flat. Thanks!
« Last Edit: February 08, 2018, 06:24:26 PM by PickYerPoison »
Remember that "The truth is out there" as long as you are willing to look!

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2018, 06:25:14 PM »
Why do we want wiki visitors? What does a wiki visitor contribute?
Its one less question or one block of copy pasta that we does not need answering.
So it protects the forum from spam. Then surely you are admitting the forum is the most important part and the wiki is just there to support it.
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Offline PickYerPoison

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2018, 06:26:39 PM »
So it protects the forum from spam. Then surely you are admitting the forum is the most important part and the wiki is just there to support it.

You understand why the tank stands in front of the healer, right?
Remember that "The truth is out there" as long as you are willing to look!

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2018, 06:33:50 PM »
Do we want a site that is used as a wiki and no one ever visits the forums?

If we had to pick, a wiki OR a forum, which would we pick? A wiki isn't much fun. We don't all contribute to that daily.

The forum is the point of the site. You can read FE theories anywhere online. People come here specifically because they can interact with flat earthers. Its our only selling point. So why would you hide the forum further down the list of things to see than the wiki? If the wiki hits search terms and drives traffic (its purpose and exactly what it does), and that traffic winds up on the forum ... that's the same as putting your best products in the front of the shop window. If we encourage people to read the wiki and they never post ... so what? That's like a tree falling in a forest. I don't really care if it made a sound or not.
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Offline PickYerPoison

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2018, 06:41:02 PM »
Do we want a site that is used as a wiki and no one ever visits the forums?

If we had to pick, a wiki OR a forum, which would we pick? A wiki isn't much fun. We don't all contribute to that daily.

The forum is the point of the site. You can read FE theories anywhere online. People come here specifically because they can interact with flat earthers. Its our only selling point. So why would you hide the forum further down the list of things to see than the wiki? If the wiki hits search terms and drives traffic (its purpose and exactly what it does), and that traffic winds up on the forum ... that's the same as putting your best products in the front of the shop window. If we encourage people to read the wiki and they never post ... so what? That's like a tree falling in a forest. I don't really care if it made a sound or not.

The question is whether the forum link and the wiki link should be swapped on the home page. That's, like, less than an inch of movement. Nothing's being hidden. What kind of nonsense fatalism are you pulling out of your ass here?

Also, that "tree falling in a forest" makes no sense in this context. I'm not sure what you're trying to say.
Remember that "The truth is out there" as long as you are willing to look!

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Offline Lord Dave

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2018, 07:06:24 PM »
Why do we want wiki visitors? What does a wiki visitor contribute?
Its one less question or one block of copy pasta that we does not need answering.
So it protects the forum from spam. Then surely you are admitting the forum is the most important part and the wiki is just there to support it.

I am.
I never said otherwise.
The forum is certainly more important from a social perspective but not from an informational dissemination perspective.  However, both are important and needed for the full effect of "The Flat Earth Society" as searching for answers in the forums is a pain in the ass.
If you are going to DebOOonK an expert then you have to at least provide a source with credentials of equal or greater relevance. Even then, it merely shows that some experts disagree with each other.

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2018, 07:16:41 PM »
Do we want a site that is used as a wiki and no one ever visits the forums?

If we had to pick, a wiki OR a forum, which would we pick? A wiki isn't much fun. We don't all contribute to that daily.

The forum is the point of the site. You can read FE theories anywhere online. People come here specifically because they can interact with flat earthers. Its our only selling point. So why would you hide the forum further down the list of things to see than the wiki? If the wiki hits search terms and drives traffic (its purpose and exactly what it does), and that traffic winds up on the forum ... that's the same as putting your best products in the front of the shop window. If we encourage people to read the wiki and they never post ... so what? That's like a tree falling in a forest. I don't really care if it made a sound or not.

The question is whether the forum link and the wiki link should be swapped on the home page. That's, like, less than an inch of movement. Nothing's being hidden. What kind of nonsense fatalism are you pulling out of your ass here?

Also, that "tree falling in a forest" makes no sense in this context. I'm not sure what you're trying to say.
So why swap it?

when you build a web site it takes the following form.

Home       About Us       Products/Services      Testimonials/Blog/Portfolio       Contact


Its called a 5 page website. They aren't necessarily 5 pages. But they take you on a journey.
The home page is the tl;dr version of the website. It is a landing page, with the summary of everything else in order. And you can scroll down with your mobile and click into the bit you care about.
The rest takes the following form.

Who we are
What we do
Proof we are good at it
Here's how to contact us.

Its very standard. You'll see it everywhere. About/Company is next to home. Next is services/products. Then some kind of proof. An artist might have a gallery, a web designer might have a portfolio, a vegan evangelist might have a blog, and contact is always on the far right.

So for our site

Who we are - well you meet us on the forum
What we do/believe - read the wiki
Proof we are good at it/know what we are talking about - library with sources
Shop - meh (its extra)
And if we ever get a press section going it should live on the right as how to contact us.

No one planned it. Its intuitive. Its how most websites work. And by subliminal indoctrination the people here set it up in the right order.

Forum is where it should be and where you'd expect to find it if you had never visited before. Thus spake Baby Thork.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2018, 07:19:10 PM by Baby Thork »
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Offline AATW

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2018, 08:01:04 PM »
I'll admit I'm not an expert on UX design. But it's not about which is the most important part of the site, it's about the order you want people to see things.
Do you want people signing up to the forum first and posting stuff like "why are other planets round but the earth flat, lol"?
I've seen that sort of thing a lot on here and while I think the answer in your Wiki is wrong, it is your answer so fair enough.
Or do you want people looking at the Wiki first, the things they see there making them think of questions and them then sign up to ask them?
I don't care that much, this is the place for suggestions so I made one.
Doing something to encourage people to look at the Wiki before signing up and asking questions which are answered there would save y'all a lot of time though, even if the something is not what I've suggested.
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2018, 09:04:15 PM »
We have an FAQ. That's to stop quickfire stupid questions.

The wiki is more of a collaborative effort for people who want a more in-depth overview. I would hope by the time they are that interested in FET, they would have engaged the community to share their enthusiasm.
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Offline AATW

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2018, 09:14:39 PM »
This thread is a reaction to how many new posters I see on here posting the same basic questions which are answered in your FAQ or Wiki.
If something could be done to reduce that then that can only be a good thing.
Not ever so confident that my suggestion would do that but if anyone else has any bright ideas then fine.
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2018, 09:20:36 PM »
You could put a flashing box in front of every page that requires a captcha to get past saying "Read the FAQ before you ask about gravity, type I'll read the FAQ to continue" and people would still make explain gravity threads.

I consider those people as the sort who sit on benches clearly marked wet paint, and lose a hand at the zoo next to signs saying don't feed the animals. There's a lot of dumb people out there. Its the internet ... the place where they collect and loiter.
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Offline AATW

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2018, 09:27:26 PM »
This is certainly true. I do work in IT and I know that people don't read stuff. There is no way of stopping this sort of thing, but there may be ways of reducing it.
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #17 on: February 08, 2018, 09:37:13 PM »
We have a way of reducing it. Junker moves the threads into CN.
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Offline AATW

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Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #18 on: February 08, 2018, 09:38:45 PM »
Yes, but if you could deal with the root cause...
Although a lot of the root cause is people being stupid for which I agree there is no cure.
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

Rama Set

Re: Wiki and Forum Order on Home Page
« Reply #19 on: February 23, 2018, 06:40:02 PM »
Most people are lazy and don’t want to research first so you could make the wiki the landing page and it would probably only move the needle a bit.