[Haskell-cafe] Leaner Haskell.org frontpage

Derek Elkins derek.a.elkins at gmail.com
Thu Jul 9 19:12:05 EDT 2009


On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 5:17 PM, Jason Dagit<dagit at codersbase.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 3:11 PM, Derek Elkins <derek.a.elkins at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Jason Dagit<dagit at codersbase.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 10:00 AM, Thomas ten Cate <ttencate at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> By the way, the most valuable pixels, right at the top of the page,
>> >> are wasted on wiki stuff. Compare
>> >> http://www.haskell.org/
>> >> with, for example,
>> >> http://www.ruby-lang.org/
>> >> http://python.org/
>> >
>> > The thing I like the most from the ruby page is the top box of content
>> > where
>> > it starts describing ruby with a "Read more..." link adjacent to a code
>> > snippet.  Because I doubt anyone will agree on *the one* best code
>> > snippet
>> > to show people, I think there should/could be a pool of fun snippets and
>> > loading the page picks one at random.  I have no idea if the wiki engine
>> > supports this.  I also like the strip of links at the top with things
>> > like,
>> > "Download", "Community", and so on.  Something I think the Haskell page
>> > does
>> > much better than the other two, is the listing of events and hackage
>> > updates.  Both of those sections feel "inviting" to me.  It makes me
>> > curious
>> > and I want to explore.
>> >
>> > The python page looks at least as cluttered as the haskell page.
>> > Neither
>> > the haskell page or the python page have the same look and feel of the
>> > ruby
>> > page.  I think the shaded/gradient backgrounds actually add a lot to the
>> > visual experience.  I also like that the boxes have a different bg color
>> > for
>> > the box title and the box contents.  I also like the use of icons on the
>> > ruby page.  The "Download Ruby" link/box with the download icon is very
>> > inviting.  I just want to download it, even if I'm not going to use
>> > ruby!
>> >
>> > Perhaps we could have a contest similar to the logo contest but for
>> > homepage
>> > asthetics redesign.  I think the content on the haskell page is great,
>> > but
>> > the visual style of the presentation could be improved considerably.
>> >
>> >>
>> >> If, like the consensus seems to be, the page should be made more
>> >> friendly to beginners (who are unlikely to want to contribute to the
>> >> wiki right away), then this should be moved elsewhere, or at the very
>> >> least made smaller and less obtrusive.
>> >
>> > Optimizing for newcomers seems wise.
>> > Jason
>>
>> This is what I see when visiting the Ruby page:
>> "DoS vulnerability in BigDecimal"
>
> That's true.  And I never said we want to copy the ruby community :)  In
> fact, I'd prefer to not be associated with them given the community's
> blatant unprofessionalism and sexism (cf. CouchDB presentation at a
> semi-recent ruby conference).  I do think their page has more visual appeal
> though.  So other than pointing out the DoS, did you have feedback?

I admit it; you caught me.

I'm not a newbie and I don't use the front page terribly often, but I
do like most of the links that are on it.  The Ruby page is certainly
prettier, but the layout of the Haskell page is fine in my opinion;
the difference is mainly eye-candy.  On another topic, I know people
have expressed that they have liked the fact that the entire Haskell
site is a wiki; this expressing openness and community involvement.

I personally don't find the Haskell front page too cluttered and I
think most of issue in that vein could be resolved by simply making
sure the most important/newbie-oriented links are "above the fold" and
appropriately emphasized/categorized as is partially done already.


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