[drupal-docs] Developing vs Empowering : Or how the wording inside Drupal/CS affects a sites design

[Lucy Perry]

Liza, I agree with your sentiments about usability, even though I am not
exactly sure what you are asking for.

You want to have books enabled but not have book page appear as a "node
type" on the "create content" page?

The current list of content types just pulls all enabled node types and
puts them in alphabetical order.

If I was going to change this, I would probably find the place where the
code automatically generates this list in the node_add function. This is
in the node module, around line 1307 in my version 0.8.0.2

And I would ditch that list created by node_list() function and create
my own custom list instead. (Leave the node_list() function as is
because it is used in other places, but just put together a similar list
yourself.)

Here's the code as I changed it:

 else {
    // If no (valid) node type has been provided, display a node type
overview.
 //LP edit here to make custom list of content types
   // foreach (node_list() as $type) {//ditch this auto generated list
  $custom_arr = array('blog','story','image');//generate custom array
instead of the one from node_list()
   foreach($custom_arr as $type){//run through custom array
      if (node_access('create', $type)) {
        $out = '<li>';
        $out .= ' '. l(node_invoke($type, 'node_name'),
"node/add/$type", array('title' => t('Add a new %s.', array('%s' =>
node_invoke($type, 'node_name')))));
        $out .= " <div style=\"margin-left: 20px;\">". implode("\n",
module_invoke_all('help', 'node/add#'. $type)) .'</div>';
        $out .= '</li>';
        $item[node_invoke($type, 'node_name')] = $out;
      }
    }

    if (isset($item)) {
      //ksort($item); LP edit: don't sort in alphabetical order
      $output = t('Choose the appropriate item from the list:') .'<ul>'.
implode('', $item) .'</ul>';
    }

Now to change the little blurb that tells what each "node type" is, you
have to find that piece within each module. You can do this by just
searching for the exact text within the module. For example I did a
search in the image module for " An image you can insert into nodes, or
see in image galleries." and I found the place where I can change the
text.

Hope this helps.

- Lucy

-----Original Message-----
From: Liza Sabater [mailto:blogdiva at culturekitchen.com] 
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 3:28 PM
To: civicspace-community at civicspacelabs.org; drupal-docs at drupal.org;
Civicspace
Cc: Liza Sabater
Subject: Developing vs Empowering : Or how the wording inside Drupal/CS
affects a sites design


Hey'all,

This first started out as a simple question about how to change the
information that appears on the "Create Content" page; but it spiraled
into something else. Just speechifying here and absolutely NOT creating
content. So here it goes: 

First off, let's talk about "Create Content". As Doc Searles has pointed
out so well, in his "What blogs are vs. What blogs are not"

http://www.searls.com/doc/2005lesblogs/index.html

blogs --and by extension community sites-- are not content, they are
free speech. Not just free democratic speech but speech that is free of
the barriers to entry to mass media. Blogs are fast becoming the mass
media of our day and as "techno-fear" decreases and ease of use rises,
we will have millions of not just readers but contributors --through
comments, diaries, forums-- growing this new mass media and changing the
landscape of public/private discourse, 

To invite anyone reading a blog entry to contribute their opinion on an
issue is not the same as asking for content contributions. Opinions and
content are two mutualy exclusive things. Wouldn't you feel weird if you
were at a cocktail party and someone asked you to submit an article
about briefs vs. boxers instead of saying right then and there what you
thought?

I want people coming to my sites to feel empowered to contribute their
insights and opinions on an issue. To be able to "speechify"
effortlessly and with no barriers to entry. 

I know Kieran has been working double overtime on correcting a lot of
the documentation. That man needs a drink and as blog as my witness, I'm
getting him one when I get my arse to California in July. But, something
I feel is missing is the non-techie mission, elan, inspiration that
propels people to work hard to make CivicSpace work. 

In other words, what do we stand for should be inspiring every bit of
coding and documentation. If this is what CivicSpace stands for : 

______

CivicSpace is a free open-source software platform for grassroots
organizing and civic activity. It allows individuals and organizations
to build online communities that communicate effectively, act
collectively, and coordinate coherently with a network of other related
organizations and communities.
______

This is what needs to push every single bit of info on the site.
Actually, I'd like to cut that wordiness to this : empowering grassroots
and civic activity with powerful online community spaces


So for the sake of netroots sanity, the following has to go because it
is not flexible :
______

Choose the appropriate item from the list:

* book page
A book is a collaborative writing effort: users can collaborate writing
the pages of the book, positioning the pages in the right order, and
reviewing or modifying pages previously written. So when you have some
information to share or when you read a page of the book and you didn't
like it, or if you think a certain page could have been written better,
you can do something about it.

* forum topic
A forum is a threaded discussion, enabling users to communicate about a
particular topic.

* image
An image you can insert into nodes, or see in image galleries.

* issue
Add a new issue (bug report, feature request, etc) to an existing
project.

* personal blog entry
A blog is a regularly updated journal made up of individual entries,
often called posts, that are time stamped and typically arranged by the
day, with the newest on top (a diary is the reverse). They tend to be
quite personal, often containing links to things you've seen, or to
editorials that you find interesting. Some blogs also contain original
material written solely for the blog. Since a Blog is personal, you and
only you have full control over what you publish. The most interesting
blog entries or those blog entries that fit the site's topic well might
get promoted to the front page by the community or by users with the
access do this.

* project specification
Description of a CivicSpace project. 
_____________


This works great for people in the know of Drupal --ie, we geeks and
freaks of all kinds. For your regular Bob and Bobette --no matter how
techy skilled they might be-- if they have never used this system,
there's a learning curve to use. I have a particular problem with the
fact that BLOGS, is not at the top. If blogs are each users co-ownership
of a community space, they ought to be able to find it in a snap. Fast.
Effortlessly. I also have a problem with the fact I cannot easily change
this text. Nobody I know, NO ONE, talks about personal blog entries.
They BLOG IT! They RANT IT! They whatever it.

I am first and foremost a communicatrix. So publishing is not just about
using Movable Type vs. CivicSpace. It's about setting up a tone through
the design, the flow of content and the language used throughout the
site's interface. Being able to change "News Feeds" to "Sheroesphere",
on a nav bar (which I can), is part of my job. And is in the language,
in the vocabulary I use all throughout the site that allows me to set a
tone, a message, a vision. So I don''t setup and design a blog --a turn
a blog into personal loudspeaker. I don't just use community platform as
social software (whatever that is). My goal is to develop it into a
commons, a real life yet digital town square --or a community
loudspeaker. I should be able to change this. Easily. Effortlessly.
Fast.

So with this entry I would like to do two things : 
(1) Could the real coders please tell us mere mortals where to change
the links on the modules. I want to do away with "Book page", "Forum
topic", etc. I want to know if changing those would affect anything.

(2) Those explanations have to go. Sorry, they're just not doing it for
me. Node? NODE? WFT is a node to someone outside of the Drupalsphere?
Seriously! Let's use this forum for alternative blurbs.

Enough speechifying. Let's get cracking :)

Best, 
Liza Sabater
Blog Publisher 
www.culturekitchen.com
www.blogsheroes.com
www.brownbloggers.com
www.dailygotham.com

AIM - cultkitdiva
SKYPE - lizasabater



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