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Old 12-06-2006, 02:24 PM
computist_2000 computist_2000 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dcrux
The site -- and obviously not best viewed in FireFox -- is important for illustrating why the CMS has absolutely no place in the content discussion forum.

You would think otherwise. Content Management Systems could very well be about something other than software construction. ...it just isn't.

Based on the admin section, this is a programmer's fantasy about beginning users or "users who don't want to be programmers." In that fantasy, the implementation model -- not content management -- is what the user wants to focus on.

Take the Add categories, excuse me Categories>> Add function. You have the root because the user just created it. Helping the beginning user (of software) would be to insert the result of previous steps into this one (i.e. http://what_you_entered_in_step_one/). Select priority means something ... only when you've used Joomla, Drupal, WP, TP, etc, etc.

However, for your purported target user, who doesn't want to be a programmer, it is unclear how the Select Priority function "manages" content. You hardly have to go into ontology development or information architecture, but you do have to give a tip or hint.

It's pretty much like that through every element.

Rather than write a hundred paragraphs in this post, just read my review of Bluo. It isn't a CMS either, but provides a practical working example of what focus on a target user looks like. And I'm forced to guess it was what you were trying to develop.

I can only guess because other than generic filler there isn't any content on the site to explain anything about your Content Management System?!?! Somehow, one gets the impression content-driven website design has taken several steps backward.

The site proves CMS implementations are a decade away from discussions of content management, content strategy, ontology and information architecture. This is a programmer-centric implementation of a data management utility. To programmers, what is being stored and retrieved are alphanumeric strings. This has as much to do with content management as zombies have to do with creative writing or publishing. It is beyond the scope of a single post to move from interaction design, through why the CMS is a myth, and on to content management strategy to provide context for the hundreds of points that need correction.

.....and that cross browser thing. The logo image drops outside the header in Firefox. But given everything else, it's a minor quibble at this point.
You had a good point about Firefox which is easy to fix and yes there should be more guidance to people but all other mumbojumbo that you wrote just makes no sense to average users. YOU should use this CMS on your own site, maybe it will load faster ;-)
The main concept of creating a site is like creating a book. Follow the same rules. Why overcomplicate things?
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