[Fedora-marketing-list] Re: who has some CSS/wiki foo?

[chasd at silveroaks.com]

> So I did some minor changes last night to FedoraMain, the front page of
> the wiki.

I think that is an improvement, however I think the FC6 links should be 
below the FC5 links.
IMHO, stable releases should be encouraged over test releases.
At least there are test release links on the main page now, I like that.

> I think that a comparatively small amount of effort could make a *huge*
> difference in the professional look and feel, and ease of use, of our
> wiki.

I think before the layout is determined, you need to decide what is the 
order of importance.
Obviously "How do I get it" is very important, but what are the next 
three or four most needed pieces of info ?

My top five would be
Download
Help
News
Participate
Goals
( not sure about the order )

> This is only going to look right in plain text email readers:
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Stuff that comes at the top of the wiki
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Two column layout
>
> FC6 screenshot			Fedora logo

I personally don't like having two logos close to each other.
I would remove one. The space the log takes here could be better used 
with some descriptive copy, or a review quote.

>
>  				Download FC6
>  				torrents, x86, etc.

A link to new features here might be a good idea.
You offer links to FC5 and to FC6, some copy or a link to help the 
viewer decide which to choose might be a good idea.

>
>  				Download FC%
>  				torrents, x86, etc.
>
> basically the way it is right now, some sort of box around it to set it
> apart from the rest of the FedoraMain

Why set it apart ?

> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Two column layout
>
> Left column, in white		Right column, some sort of color bg
> Fedora Projects				General Information
> now we list the "biggest"		stuff like FAQ, Communicate,
> Projects, with just a few		Press queries, etc, one or two
> words about each			"latest news" blurbs, weekly
>  					reports, etc.

Not sure why two different colored backgrounds would be required here.
I think the organization into two columns is enough of a separation.
Maybe one column is wider than the other to indicate emphasis rather 
than a different background color.

One more comment about color, one of the reasons I think FedoraMain is, 
um, not as inviting as the other links Mr. Spevack provided is the 
colors are either all the same or neutral. Everything is either blue, 
white, or black/grey. Blue is a rather passive color. I think one or 
maybe two brighter colors in small doses to add interest might help. 
Also there is almost no imagery or graphics on FedoraMain ( besides the 
screen shot ) compared to icons or even images at the other links. The 
Fedora style ( and Ubuntu ) uses very flat color. Adding something with 
dimension provides contrast to the flat color. Note how if you remove 
the icons from the openSUSE page the design becomes much more plain. If 
the Mozilla icons were flat that page would start to be a yawner.

I agree with another post that the use of badges or "banners" to 
attract the eye to highly requested areas might be a good idea, 
particularly if there are highlights and shadows to provide dimension.

I have zero experience with Wikis, MoinMoin in particular.


Charles Dostale