maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

On the page
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-testing

What does "Try to hint the blockers first" mean?

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

On the page:
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-testing/QA_Checklist

The checkbox template for blockers entry at #6 "Optification ok" seems to have been revised from an earlier use of "Too much memory used in root partition" from the explanations later in the page.

If this is the case, the later heading of "Too much memory used in root partition" should be revised to "Optification OK" so that it the description is apparent in its relation, and the information can be used by the reader in QA..

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

On the page
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-testing/QA_Checklist

Relation of the later descriptions and checks for the earlier listed blockers is torturous to correspond with the blockers themselves.

If the blockers in the checklist are enumerated, then the later descriptions should be preceded by the same number at the beginning of a section on that particular blocker so that the reference is plain.

Example: "1." before "Lack of bug reporting database", "2." before "Licensing and legal issues", etc.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

On the page
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-testing/QA_Checklist

Lack of clarity

remains unclear to someone coming to maemo.org as to what a "blocker" is. It sounds more like a technical component found in code, but could be community slang for anything. The explanation should specifically state what it is maemo.org slang for:

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

On the page
http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-testing/QA_Checklist

Loss of utility for testing procedure

Example; "Too much memory used in root partition"
This is an instance of an instructional page becoming vague or changing its focus to design philosophy. The contents of the page should be algorithjic, not narrative. In this section, abandoning additional explanations of "why" and "how" and replacing them explicitly with testing procedure would make it useful for readers to test. There is now no information there besides mentioning dpkg as a tool for listing files - not how it is relevant, or what results should be looked for. Excursions into the links there lead only to more design philosophy, not testing procedure.

A useful entry would have an algorithmic sequence of
tool to use
how to apply it
interpretataion of result
repeat for any additional tools

This type of information would also be appropriate for other sections, such as "Power management issues" and "System performance compromised", even if the only tool is observation. The tool should be specified, the possible results specified, and the results which relate to testing pass/fail specified.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

Volunteer wiki editors welcome. ;)

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

I'll gladly volunteer, but like other things, I can't figure out how.

Also, others will need to address
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=896364&postcount=5
I have not yet penetrated the swamp between here & how-to.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

If I might add my own private annoyance with a website detail here:

CSS on non-IE browsers

Could someone with a notepad editor and access to the maemo server files set the max-width of the content area to something more reasonable and flexible?

I just sent a private message and the end of my lines just disappear into oblivion over to the right side of the content area. But it´s not just private messages. Other forum areas have that same problem too.

I know max-width isn´t supported by MS, but all decent browser do and for IE width should be enough as well.
Line/word wrapping might be helpfull here too...

This has been annoying me for some time now and it´s really, really easy to fix :D

Thank you.

* Bows. Nods head. Waves goodbye now *

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

I was nervous about wiki editing when I first started. But I just began googling wiki techniques and observing what others did, started off slow with minor edits and now it's no big deal.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

I'm guessing, but I bet the original author meant "hit" or "find". I've set it to "find" for now.

Dave.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

Hi rotoflex,

I agree. This is a really good first opportunity to make changes in the wiki! I have taken a couple of your suggestions into account already, and modified the pages appropriately (I hope).

A "blocker" is "a bug which blocks the package from being promoted to Extras" - as such, only serious problems should block packages. These problems should cover filesystem corruption & systemic overuse, excessive power consumption in normal operation, legal issues, lack of a community reporting mechanism, and any non-edge-case crasher bugs.

I personally disagree with the "blocker" list on 2 points: not all crashers or incomplete features should be blockers, IMHO - if an application crashes when some unusual set of circumstances happens, then it should still get promoted; and I don't think we should be policing "missing announced features".

So if you would like to update the lead-in paragraph to elaborate on what is meant by a blocker, then I would be delighted! Just log in, click on the edit link beside the paragraph, and update. Everything is version controlled, so you have a safety net to roll back if you are unhappy with the result.

Good luck!
Dave.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

Hi,

Here to help :) (although as you can tell, I don't keep abreast of the forum very often).

First stop: our getting started in the wiki page, linked to whenever you edit a page: http://wiki.maemo.org/Contributing_to_the_wiki

You have a simple but multi-step process to follow to get on the first step:

1. You need a Garage account first
2. Then on the wiki, click on "Log in/register"
3. Enter your username & password from Garage
4. Go to the page you want to edit
5. Either click on the "Edit" link beside a section heading you want to edit, or click on the "Edit" item in the "Views" section on the right-hand side menu
6. Now simply update the content you want to update in the edit pane (here's a very simple overview of wiki page editing)

You can also edit the wiki anonymously, if you know how to do simple additions.

I hope this helps you get started!

Cheers,
Dave.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

Of course, there's a difference between clarifying language/fixing typos and changing the meaning of the QA criteria used for testing apps. One of them can be done by anybody, the other requires consensus.

Re: maemo.org website clarity & organization
 

... or, at least, discussion (concensus is a bit harder to achieve).

Agreed. Just pointing out that I don't agree with all the things we consider blockers (and am on the record as saying that the extras-testing process places too much of a burden on app developers & packagers).

Just my opinion, of course.

Dave.