[scribus] "ml"

[John Beardmore]

Oleksandr Moskalenko wrote:
> * John Beardmore <John at T4sLtd.co.uk> [2008-08-08 21:17:05 +0100]:
> 
>> Henry Hartley wrote:
>>
>>> I've run 1.3.5svn from
>>> 07/17/2008 on WinXP for a couple weeks.
>> Is that available in compiled form as a download anywhere ?
>>
>>
>> Cheers, J/.
> 
> John,
> 
> We've a "Downloads" area on the website that has a section for Windows with a
> link to the download.

I'd got the impression a few months ago that you couldn't get 1.3.5.x 
unless you compiled it, had qt4 on your machine etc. That impression 
stopped me looking very long on the website.


> If that is difficult to find on the website suggestions
> of improving navigation are welcome.

The first thing is which website ?

Let's assume I go to www.scribus.net

I see a big friendly text saying

     "Download the Latest Scribus v1.3.3.12"

and under it the page refers to the stable release, and has an 
invitation to read more, but no clear indication of where to get the 
svns if you don't want the stable release.

But on the opening page, there are additional references to Downloads to 
the top and right. Must there be three download links ?  Which should I 
take ?

Now, I click on the big friendly one, because it is so eye catching and 
because anything that leads to 'downloads of the latest' will probably 
lead, if a little indirectly, to other versions, svns included.

Now I expect to get a list of downloads, but I get "Why Scribus ?".  I 
hoped I was about to download it.  Shouldn't I know why by now ?

In the end, I ignore the download links at the top and on the right, and 
I notice something that says in very small print "Choose your 
platform:...".  This sounds promising so I select Windows 2000/XP, 
though it's not immediately clear that this is a link which doesn't seem 
ideal...

This takes me to more words. Invitations to download at the top and the 
right still. Only when I scroll right to the bottom do I find the link I 
presumably need.

This takes me to SourceForge and automatically starts a download of 
1.3.3.12.

OK -  so following the big "Download the Latest Scribus v1.3.3.12" link 
for svns probably was silly. Had I taken one of the top or right 
download links, I could have found the link to "SVN Snapshots".

Doing this, I see the text "There are currently no posts in this 
category" which I don't understand. And then I'm back to "Sponsorship" 
and "Why Scribus ?", but seem to have no apparent way of getting to any 
SVN, least still one for windows.


So yes - I don't think downloading svns from the web site is obvious. 
But it's easy to snipe and you are asking what would be better.


I'd suggest a simple hierarchy of pages along the lines of

index.html
     ->Downloads
         ->OS1
             ->Historic releases
             ->Best stable release
             ->svns
         ->OS/2
             ->Historic releases
             ->Best stable release
             ->svns
         ->OS3
             ->Historic releases
             ->Best stable release
             ->svns
         ->etc

I suppose I'm a fan of fewer words, more compact (less repetitious) 
pages, and a more tabular presentation with fewer ambiguous alternatives.

So I guess my main suggestion for improving navigation of the web site 
would be...

     Make it clear what you are about to download before before
     starting downloads automatically,

     avoid duplication of text where possible,

     avoid repeating text where it is unnecessary
     (see what I mean ?),

     avoid having multiple confusing links from a given page,

and

     avoid links that seem to lead to nowhere !


Somebody has kindly given me the link to 1.3.5 win32 SVN, but I can see 
how I managed to miss it !


Cheers, J/.
-- 
John Beardmore, MSc EDM (Open), B.A. Chem (Oxon), CMIOSH, AIEMA, MEI
Managing Director, T4 Sustainability Limited. http://www.T4sLtd.co.uk/
Carbon Trust Consultant: Energy Audit, Carbon Footprint, Design Advice
Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme, (EEAS), Registered Assessor
Phone: 0845 4561332   Mobile: 07785 563116   Skype: t4sustainability