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Re: Fw: Design of Debian web site



On Mon, 30 Mar 1998 16:27:03 EST, "James A.Treacy" wrote:

> Here are some points that should be addressed/discussed:
> 
> Should we only redesign the top page, or modify all the pages to use frames
> (in particular the left margin or top frame to ease moving around the site)?
> My feeling is to leave the other pages as is.

Tables are much better than frames.  A common titlebar looks nice on 
all pages, and allows for constant orientation and quick navigation.  
Personally, I don't like the left margin being used in all pages 
because it takes up too much space, but sometimes it's useful for deep 
navigating deep websites.

> There should be a place for the Debian logo (do not start a discussion on
> the quality of the logo. This will be discussed somewhere else).

I agree on all three parts, but where will the quality of the logo be 
discussed?

> Should we use style sheets?

Whatever works for you is all right with me.

> Is there any point in keeping the site index? I inherited it and have(sort of
> maintained it, but don't see the point.

A site index is good for when search is down or slow.  Maybe the 
webmaster knows where everything is at, but that doesn't mean everyone 
else does.

The Debian website is a primary form of advocacy -- the first 
experience prospective Debian users have with Debian as well as where 
they get a lot of initial information -- and I think the Debian website 
deserves to make advocacy and new users a higher priority.

> There needs to be space at the bottom for the logo of the site sponsor.
>
> After the pages are translated, there will be links at the bottom to
> access the page in specific languages. This is for those who don't set up
> the preferred_language variable in their browser.
> 
> FYI, it has been my intention to have the actual web pages generated using m4
> .
> This would allow us to have a generic header and footer (for each language)
> and have time stamps be generated automatically. Modifying the header or
> footer in the past has been a royal pain as every page had to be changed by
> hand.
> 
> Is it necessary to have both the left frame and titlebar links?

>From the main page it serves to provide a deeper table of contents 
which aids navigation, particularly for those who are unfamiliar with 
the Debian website.

In Lynx, the main page of Thomas' proposal is a bit "tall", however it 
has a navigation table at the top (titlebar), as well as a lot of 
textual information which is nice -- news, general info, ..  Debian's 
website really needs this kind of an update badly.

> A few specific changes:
> We go International -> Debian goes International  (We doesn't work well here)
> Bug Tracking -> Bug Tracking System

I like Thomas' proposal a lot.

The overall design of the Debian website hasn't changed much in the 
past couple years, and I think it's time to make some serious 
improvements.
-- 
David Stern                          
------------------------------------------------------------------
                             http://weber.u.washington.edu/~kotsya
                                           kotsya@u.washington.edu




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