<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
I'd like to submit the following suggestion for introductory
documentation to be added to the Installation and configuration
handbook under the first section, "Introduction to Drupal terminology".<br>
<br>
I'm suggesting changing the 1st paragraph on this page from:<br>
<blockquote type="cite">Drupal is a web-based <i>content management
system</i>. Text and
pointers to other kinds of content are stored in a database,
dynamically retrieved and composed, and presented to a user in response
to a request sent via a web-browser.</blockquote>
to:<br>
<blockquote type="cite">Drupal is a web-based <i>content management
system</i>. Text and
pointers to other kinds of content are stored in a database,
dynamically retrieved and composed, and presented to a user in response
to a request sent via a web-browser.<br>
<br>
Content in Drupal is created in individual "nodes". For nodes of
type "story", users can add comments to the node (comments themselves
are not considered nodes). Depending on site settings, adding new
nodes and/or posting comments might or might not be allowed. Also,
nodes or comments might require approval from the moderators before the
node or comment is displayed. Blog entries are another type of Drupal
node.<br>
<br>
The default Drupal layout ("Theme"), consists of three columns. The
center column is referred to as the "Content Column".
It typically displays summaries of the most recently posted nodes in
date order. If you click on a node summary, the full content of the
node is displayed in the center column.<br>
<br>
The left and right side columns are referred to as the sidebars. The
side bars can display "blocks" of related
information. Blocks often contain links for navigating to other nodes.
For example, there can be blocks displaying the most recently posted
stories, or the most popular stories. For new installations, the login
block displays, along
with a navigation block containing a menu of available actions.
Different menu items can display in the navigation block depending on
what you're doing and what privileges ("roles") you have.<br>
<br>
Blocks may or may not display
depending on what you're doing and what privileges ("roles") you have.
For example, the login block will not
display if you're already logged in, or the "most recent stories"
block
may not display if there are no story nodes available. The
administrator can enable/disable different blocks under the
Admin->Blocks menu item.<br>
<br>
Nodes can be organized into categories, also called taxonomies.
Forums are an example of content nodes organized by category.
Categories can be hierarchical, where one parent category contains
multiple child categories.<br>
<br>
New features in Drupal are often implemented as "modules". Once an
administrator adds a module file to the "modules" subdirectory, the
option to use the module appears in the Admin->Modules section. If
the administrator enables that module in Admin->Modules, the
features associated with that module become active. A module may
define new node types, new menu items may appear in the navigation
block, and new types of blocks may become available for display in the
sidebars.<br>
</blockquote>
It took me months to figure out the above information. I wish this
intro had been there for me.<br>
<br>
Granted, this text is a little redundant with the terminology section,
but it's presented in
conceptual order (presenting the base concepts first) rather than
alphabetical order. I feel this is extremely important for a new
reader. The terminology section is better for reference, not
introduction.<br>
<br>
All feedback appreciated.<br>
<br>
Ben Slade<br>
Washington DC<br>
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" (Benjamin
Franklin)<br>
</body>
</html>