The Extensions forum *IS NOT* working .... TOO MANY POSTS !

[EMRhelp]

The Extensions forum *IS NOT* working .... TOO MANY POSTS !
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,227780.0.html

A major deficiency here at joomla.org is the inability to find reviews comparing extensions.  Users need both reviews on what extensions are available and what are there features that each of the components has or lacks. 

Forinstance, we need a forum dedicated to "BLOGs for Joomla".  I want to go there to read head to head comparisons or some posts about how people like or dislike their BLOG. 

Ideally some keen users after 2 days of exhaustive research will post why they chose Blog XYZ. 

The utter mess and onslaught of posts in the Extensions forum is a sign that the infrastructure needs changing.

Please read the ideas in the above thread for more information.

Maybe a "BLOG" forum could have some targeted ads from commercial blogs ?

(hint hint).

Maybe Joomla! has some slush money to pay users for "Review of the Month" etc.

Just thinking here ...

[brad]

Doesn't the Extensions site have enough reviews etc listed with the relevant extensions?

[brad]

Just so you can understand where I am coming from.. added more forum sections will only lead the *others* to complain that there are too many forums, too complicated, and not enough threads getting replies.

Maybe a 'extensions reviews' sub forum with some tighter rules? We'd need some more moderators to help out of course.

[EMRhelp]

I think the challenge is to figure out how to design things from the TYPICAL end user's perspective.

The idea here is the user has installed Joomla and wants to figure out if Joomla has a Blog Component.

How can joomla.org provide the user with the information he/she needs for making a great decision ?

Not an easy design task.

I think this would be an effective location to direct users to important reviews and forums and tips and content on finding the right extension.

[MMMedia]

You can find the reviews for blog extensions on the JED http://extensions.joomla.org  site.  A lot of people do give head to head comparison reviews  of extensions in the same category there.  Here is the link to the blog category.  You can see how they are rated and how many reviews they have in a glance.  That might help you know which ones off the bat to take a look at.

http://extensions.joomla.org/index.php? ... &Itemid=35

Edit: it seems we posted at the same time.  From your screen shot -  You can see the most popular and the most reviewed right at the get go already when you look at the category.  An entire forum dedicated to blogs really doesn't seem to me like it would be time effective management for the forums.  Little subject, but but a big job to take care of a forum for it.  The best tips for finding blogs it to check out Site Showcase or Joomla! sites in general, and see what people are using and how it works.  You can even most times ask people and they are more than happy to help out with information.

[EMRhelp]

A lot of people do give head to head comparison reviews  of extensions in the same category there. 

Not really.  A few random head to head comparisons.

Here is the link to the blog category.  You can see how they are rated and how many reviews they have in a glance.  That might help you know which ones off the bat to take a look at.

Yes, that is helpful.  I assume the items are sorted via a combo score entailing the highest rated/most reviewed.

You can see the most popular and the most reviewed right at the get go already when you look at the category.

An entire forum dedicated to blogs really doesn't seem to me like it would be time effective management for the forums.    Little subject, but but a big job to take care of a forum for it. 

I think your worries about an extension subsection dealing with Blogs are unfounded.  Ideally, by directing traffic to the appropriate forum, you'll find less abuse of the "general forums".  Participation (especially by Blog Developers) would likely increase as they can easily view what people are looking for in a blog.  This will likely reduce moderator burden.

The best tips for finding blogs it to check out Site Showcase or Joomla! sites in general, and see what people are using and how it works.  You can even most times ask people and they are more than happy to help out with information.

I am aware of this time consuming method.  That is what I do currently. 




Please Note:  I only use Blogs as an example.

I think there should be a subforum for EVERY major category of extension, not just blogs. 

I hope you read the other thread where actual users lost in the over-posted Extensions forum were interested in hearing some alternative suggestions for helping endusers find the information they want.

I would also suspect if there were more forums dedicated to the SPECIFIC topics people were interested, they would be less likely to use the relatively ineffective forum search feature which must just thrash the MySQL database (which must be expensive to maintain).  I only find the forum searching works well when I search for very specific text like: error 45232.  Of course searching for "Blog" is near useless. 


Currently the Extensions forum is divided up like this:

Components - Discuss the development and implementation of Joomla! components here.
Modules - Discuss the development and implementation of Joomla! modules here.
Plugins/Mambots - Discuss the development and implementation of Joomla! bots/Plugins here.

This is how a developer thinks, not an end user looking for an extension.

Proposed set of Extension subforums:  (this is my personal opinion on what are the major Extensions categories that people are looking for)

Shopping Cart
WYSIWYG Editor (already exists, oddly)
FAQ
Downloads
Ratings and Reviews
Events and Calendars
Admin Tools
Banner Ads
Streaming Media
Search Engine Friendly URLs
Blog
Comments
Wiki
Search
Forms
eCommerce
Maps
Menu Systems
Content Management (There are 215 Extensions in this Category) you'd have to think about how to divide this up.

Note: I would also add a subforum dealing with essentially mandatory Extensions like joomlaXplorer, which I needed to do even basic things with Joomla!  I found it very odd that a key Extension like joomlaXplorer was not included in Joomla!

Other ideas:
What about a forum for all the INCLUDED modules and components ?  How about a DIRECT links from the admin interface to the specific subforum and maybe the specific part of the documentation wiki.

Just trying to help

[EMRhelp]

Hey. I just found this.
This is an example of what I was talking about.
At least someone thinks like me.

[MMMedia]

Suggestions are always wanted.

One thing that would be really helpful is perhaps instead of trying to redo the forums to suit extensions by adding 19+ forums that need moderators and also opens up the potential or abuse, you could of course take a look over in the JED forum and read about the suggestions that are in the works to make the JED better.  Also just as a note, extension developers for the most part handle their support through their own support channels.  At least that is my experience.  Adding forums here won't increase their visibility most likely.  Most are extremely busy people.

The JED forum is located here: http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/board,262.0.html

There are a lot of great changes that are going to be coming up in the JED to make information more easily found.  When in doubt about an addon you can always contact the individual developer.  Their information is always included in their JED listing.

Good luck with your search for a blog.  I know finding just the right extension that does exactly what you want in exactly the way you want it can be tough. 

Edit: just a note on your comment that there aren't many head to head comparisons by people - you can't force people to review, and you can't force them to do a head to head.  It sure is nice when people volunteer their time to put together comprehensive reviews though isn't it?

[tydust]

What I do when I can't tell which component to use based on the reviews, is find the top 2 or 3 and install, test, and uninstall if necessary.  Takes me usually 15 minutes to decide if a component is right for me or not, in most cases.

I like that the reviews exist, but in the end I have found that the reviews don't always match up with what I need to do anyway.  I read them for references to obvious bugs, pitfalls in installation, bad service, etc... and then usually end up testing the extensions one by one that seem like they might work.

I think what it boils down to is this: there are plenty of people who recommend GoDaddy hosting here on the Joomla forums.  Take from that what you will.

[EMRhelp]

One thing that would be really helpful is perhaps instead of trying to redo the forums to suit extensions by adding 19+ forums that need moderators and also opens up the potential for abuse,

I was assuming that the subforums would be moderated by the current forum moderators - at least initially, over time more specific moderators may be appointed as opportunity permits. 

you could of course take a look over in the JED forum and read about the suggestions that are in the works to make the JED better. 

I will thank you.

Also just as a note, extension developers for the most part handle their support through their own support channels.  At least that is my experience. 

Again, I am talking about FINDING a specific Extension, say a gallery extension.  If I have a specific question about an extension I have chosen, I would go to the author's site.

Adding forums here won't increase their visibility most likely.  Most are extremely busy people.

They are busy.  They wouldn't waste their time searching through 1000s of posts to find 10 dealing with galleries.  If there was a Gallery subforum they'd be more likely to go there, especially when they see the number of hits coming from that forum increase dramatically.

There are a lot of great changes that are going to be coming up in the JED to make information more easily found. 

I will read about this.  Sounds interesting.

Edit: just a note on your comment that there aren't many head to head comparisons by people - you can't force people to review, and you can't force them to do a head to head.  It sure is nice when people volunteer their time to put together comprehensive reviews though isn't it?

It is 
Thanks for your help.

Doesn't the Extensions site have enough reviews etc listed with the relevant extensions?

They can sometimes be helpful, but often not.
As I said before, the back and forth discussion dealing with hot topics about specific extension issues is sorely lacking.  Forums would supplement these often short reviews.  I think also many people hesitate to talk about controversial issues but would talk frankly in a less formal forum atmosphere.

[brad]

I'm following this thread.. however, changes around here are slow and steady, not big and fast like you are asking for. There is also no need to use huge fonts etc, in fact rather than making people take notice, it scares them away. We want less room for controversy.

I've given this topic some more thought, and I'm more and more concerned that it will open things up to abuse. ie I like this extension, you don't agree with my view so my thread gets trashed as a result. More work for moderators etc etc..

So, convince me, in a constructive way...

[EMRhelp]

I am going to read more about the emerging plans for organizing information at http://extensions.joomla.org/
It's possible that some of my concerns about information not being easily findable are going to be addressed.

I always wonder if a wiki-like with forum-like commenting would be the way to go.

[leolam]

I do absolutely agree with Brad. The extension - reviews are already a source for concern since it is either being used to slaughter competition or ventilate frustration. For me the entire review section is worthless in general although sometime one finds interesting posts. Most of it is rubbish or self promotion or frustration.

I do not believe that opening additional forums will resolve anything at all.

Leo