Rethinking documentation
The redesign has been doing lots of great stuff, rethinking how we approach Drupal.org. We should take this opportunity to really think about how we present documentation on the site. There has been a lot of talk and there are lots of little nits of annoyance in addition to the larger complaint of organization with regard to the handbooks. I wanted to try to gather up at least some of the larger things for us to consider and continue the discussion so that we can focus on specific changes while we have the services of MBD available to us.
Read moreHigh volume Drupal sites - what do we need to know?
I've been pointed in the direction of the High Performance group to discuss my requirements (http://drupal.org/node/317535). I’m looking at building a gallery site that runs the following predicted metrics each month:
• 320k visits
• 200k unique visits
• 5m page views
• 14k uploads
• 16Gb total uploads
Anecdotally I'm being told that running this on Drupal is a risk, but all the documentation suggests that as long as we have good (dedicated) hardware, good 'normal' website tuning practices and a caching facility, then we should be OK.
Read moreSQL Server Code for Drupal 5 Released
I've uploaded my code for a MSSQL-compatible Drupal 5 installation. The only folder that didn't commit properly was modules/color, so I'll try to get that working soon - hopefullly that doesn't prevent you from installing and using a non-color module theme. You can find the files on cvs.drupal.org at /contributions/sandbox/pcorbett/drupal-mssql. You'll need to checkout all the folders and then move the contents of the root_folder_files into your root folder (CVS doesn't let me commit files that aren't contained in a folder).
Read moreLocal User Groups unite to give back support!!
The Iowa Drupal Users Group is declaring November "Drupal Hand-Up Month". Join Us!!
Read moreAddressing misuse of t()
An issue in Drupal 6+ contrib needing some thought is the current misuse of t().
Prior to D6 there was no clear way to provide translation for strings other than ones built into code. So many module authors started resorting to passing variables through t(), e.g.,
<?php
$output .= t($variable['key']);
?>Drupal trademark policy draft
As announced, I've been working with the Software Freedom Law Center, lawyers, and the Drupal Association on drafting a public trademark policy for use of the Drupal trademark. We're all happy with the current draft, so this is the time to open it up to the community to get further input and feedback. Please read it carefully, and let us know if you have comments or suggestions. This policy is obviously an important one as more and more people starting abusing the Drupal trademark. Thanks!
Read moreMore coverage of regional conferences on drupal.org
I think it is crazy that the regional events don't get more coverage over at the drupal.org main site. DrupalCampLA just had a 400+ person event, but if you put DrupalCampLA into the d.o search box, all you get is a forum post from last year where one of the badcamp organizers mentions them as inspiration. We (badcamp) will probably have around 300 people show up and I am sure DCNYC was huge. g.d.o placement is nice, but d.o is missing out on a big marketing opportunity by not bragging about these events more.
Read moreD7 UX improvements IRC meeting
Let's organize ourselves and get more people involved with improving the D7 User Experience
Agenda:
- Nail down the top 10 of issues we want to work on.
- How to work on each issue: figure out the process.
- Who does what? Assign tasks within ux-team.
- Get started!
We'll meet in #drupal-usability
Hope to see you there.
Roy
Read moreThose little annoying UI things
Share your favourite Drupal User Interface gripe. Big or small.
The buttons and tabs in the sequence of screens when "requesting a new password" have labels that don't reflect what the buttons actually do, and the instructions are incomplete and misleading. Novice Members, especially those who don't have much computer savvy, can be severely flummoxed throughout this process.
- The "Request new password" tab should say something like "Forgot my password." (The "Member" isn't actually going to be given a new password, he/she must eventually change their own password. This is NEVER made clear.)
- The instructions on the following screen should say "Enter your {name of site} Username if you know it. Otherwise, enter the e-mail address where you receive {name of site} 'mass e-mails.' If neither is successful, send an e-mail to webmaster with a brief explanation."
- The "E-mail new password" button on this same screen should say "E-mail password reset instructions." (Again, this is actually what is going to happen. Nobody is emailing you a password.)
- The default text in the email that's sent to the Member needs to say things like "the following link," not "this link," because there are several links in the text. Of course you can edit and improve the text, but the default needs to make more sense.
- The instructions in this email should remind the Member that after clicking on the link, they will have only one opportunity to CHANGE THEIR OWN PASSWORD.
- The screen that the Member sees when returned to the site by the email link needs clearer instructions. (Some of these Members have no idea where they are or what they're doing.) Suggested:
One-time Login (title)
To take advantage of this one-time account access, you must assign yourself a new password. If you log out before completing the steps below, you'll have to repeat the password-recovery procedure that brought you this far.
* Click on the link below to bring up the edit-password page.
* Type your preferred password in the first password field.
* Type it again in the second field to verify.
* Press the "Save" button at the bottom of the page.
If you don't save your entry, the new password will not be registered in the system.
- The button at the bottom of the page should say "Go to the Edit-Password Page," not "Log In." (The confused Member doesn't necessarily even know what Logging in is, much less that this instance is "abnormal."
Redesign schedule
As mentioned in the d.o front page post, here is the working schedule for the redesign (e.g. please tune into this redesign group at these regularly scheduled times!):
- Friday, September 19th – Sunday, September 21st: initial research and branding development
- Friday, September 26th – Sunday, September 28th: proposed top level IA
- Friday, October 3rd – Sunday, October 5th: prototyping round 2
- Friday, October 24th – Sunday, October 26th: prototyping round 3, branding development round 3, IA strategy, design concepts
- Friday, October 31st – Sunday, November 2nd: prototyping round 4, branding development round 4, design concepts





