[drupal-docs] Dead links in documentation

[Charlie Lowe]

I agree with your advice, but would note that while the user is the 
primary audience, secondary audiences for this particular implementation 
of that documention are those who work on the documentation and those 
who create the patches for integrating them into core.

In fact, I've been wondering if this is possible. Kieran has indicated 
that he has a script to role the admin/help patches. I'm wondering if 
the acutal links couldn't be coded as html comments so that they are 
visible to those editing the text, but not visible to those visiting the 
handbook.  Then the script could create the links on the fly as they 
would appear within the documentation itself in Drupal.

Kobus Myburgh wrote:
> I think the note on the top in combination with the screenshots option is the way to go as these 404 and 403 links are simply not a good thing for people who want to read the documentation or see how it looks. We must remember, even though your arguments about seeing that the links work is valid, that the documentation is not written for us, it is for the user.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kobus
> 
> 
> 
>>>>cel4145 at cyberdash.com 9/23/2005 3:40:42 PM >>>
> 
> The documentation for those modules serves to purposes:
> 
> 1) Documentation for users in the handbook
> 2) A place for us to construct and update the documentation that will 
> eventually exist in the admin/help within Drupal itself. The current 
> links allow us to see if the links are correct (even if they do 404).
> 
> So the optimum solution would increase usability for (1) but also 
> satisfies usability for (2).
> 
> Now one thing I will point out is that many people using those pages 
> need to know that the documentation exists in the admin/help, too. So 
> perhaps a note at the top:
> 
> <i>This documentation applies to Drupal 4.x and is available through 
> administer >> help in your Drupal installation with live links to the 
> relevant configuration options</i>
> 
> I can also suggest a variation on your suggestion, but it doesn't help 
> with (2) very much. Rather than links to a live demo site, links to 
> screenshots of the pages in question.
> 
> Kobus Myburgh wrote:
> 
>>Hi,
>>
>>This issue was mentioned before, and this exists in almost EVERY module's handbook page. Here is an example, from poll module's page[1], but it has not been addressed yet:
>>
>><snip>
>>You can
>>
>>view the polls page. 
>>administer >> content >> configure >> poll. 
>></snip>
>>
>>When clicking the links, you end up at a "Page not found" link. The reason this happens may be because:
>>
>>1. The particular module is not installed on the site (404)
>>2. The user doesn't have access to that page (403)
>>
>>There might be more reasons that I am unaware of, but it is not good for a user to end up at a dead link, one way or another. I suggest this again - remove the links completely, or set up a demo site which will be refreshed hourly, where everyone can have full access all the time. The first is most probably the most desirable and managable.
>>
>>Comments, suggestions or alternative solutions anybody?
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Kobus
>>
>>[1] http://drupal.org/handbook/modules/poll 
>>
>>