Talk:Main Page/Archive 1

Could the title of the Topics box
Could the title of the Topics box be changed to read Countries instead? Ritcheymt 09:51, 20 February 2008 (MST)

Great suggestion, but we'll wait to make any changes. Jimgreene 21:25, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Suggestion
Suggestion: Please add Canada to the main page. Adkinswh 3:12, 9 May 2009

News for one country
It seems to me that news items related to just one country should be added to the country page. There has been discussion about changing the individual country pages to portal pages but news items could be added there now and moved to the portal page layout when that change is finalized.

Darris 11:40, 26 December 2007 (MST)

Quick guides
This recommendation involves all geographic locations, which is why I'm discussing it here.

Is it possible to add "quick guides" that place resources in order of priority/preference that reflect methodologies pertinent to that particular location? These would supplement, rather than replace, existing Record Selection Tables.

Front page needs fixing?
It looks as if the front page needs fixing, in the top box I see "== ==" at the top of the box. And I can not edit the page?

Also in the "Featured Article" box the first sentence in bold "From the Artricle: Family Group Record: Roadmap for Researchers." has the word "Article" mispelled.

davide 22:54, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it needs fixing.
Dave, you're absolutely right! I hope someone can fix that for me.

Also, what do you think of the new home page layout and graphic? An associate and I have been assigned by the WIKI team to design a new home page.

A problem we are having is that a lot of people coming to the Wiki for the first time don't understand its purpose. They think that they should be able to type in a person's name and find his or her records. Of course they are disappointed. The team wants the new page to make it clear that the WIKI is a place for instructions, not records. This is challenging given that most people only spend 3 to 5 seconds when browsing new sites before they move on. So, what do you think? Does the new layout quickly convey the Wiki's purpose?

Also, can you check out the instructions for authoring and article and editing an article? I've been working on them too.

I look forward to your response with great interest.

- Fred


 * Fred, Sorry I can not edit the front page! It will have to be someone with permission to edit it. The front page is fine and I would not spend to much time on it, as the content of the wiki is more important. If these people are searching for records, then modify the search results box to always show a place to go (say: the front page of http://www.familysearch.org/ or even http://pilot.familysearch.org/ ) to search for names and and the same for records. Mostly because those people are at the stage where they just want results and later on may realize that they need to do some reading in order to find the information they need. So work at their level and remember what it was like to start searching. In short the wiki should be directed at those people who have moved on to a more researched method of searching for their ancestors.

davide 22:51, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Spelling error - countires
Could someone correct a typo on the Main Page? Under Countries: Learn how to research in different countires. Thanks.

Fixed davide 07:41, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Guided Practice
The news of 24 June 2008 announces that training modules called "Guided Practice" are available but it doesn't link to these training modules. When "Guided Practice" is entered as a search term, the only close match is to the User Group Meeting of 18 June 2008--which requires even more clicks to be able to find because it's archived.

In order for this to be more useful for new contributors to the wiki, I suggest: 1) that a link be created from the new announcement or within the Getting Started page, 2) That it is mentioned that "Guided Practice" is currently available for X topics, and 3) That it be linked to a category or something that will allow it to be found with a general search.

Genguide 13:53, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Looks Great
Looks clean and professional. Only Issues I can see is that the navigation is on the left hand side. Please provide an option to have it on the right. Also the portal pages really look squeezed, maybe the template needs to be tweaked to make them fluid (eg: use a hundred percent of the browser area.) davide 04:20, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Barn raising schedule?
Is there a schedule for barn raising campaigns? Knowing the schedule it would be possible to recruit interested folks in some advance. I'm particularly interested in the countries of former Austria-Hungary. Thanks!

This is only our second barn raising event, and we're learning each time. I'm sure this will be taken into consideration for future barn raisings. I also note that Maryland is going to be for just over six weeks, and I assume that will be the case for England as well, although no firm date has been set for that to end. And just because a barn raising period might end at a certain date does not mean one should not continue to contribute, this wiki is intended to be able to be udated at any time something comes along that is new, or as any item becomes outdated. JamesAnderson 06:43, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Main Page Use
From the date of the last entry it does not look like people use this page very much. Any one have and answer to that question.

Using the Summary box
When changes are made to this page, or any page in the wiki, the use of the Summary box to briefly explain what changes were made are very helpful. Otherwise, readers are searching for the new content, wondering what was changed. There is a Help article in the wiki that explains the use of the Edit Summary box available on all pages when viewing them in edit mode. --Fran 20:09, 28 January 2010 (UTC)