Re: SEUL: New SEUL

[EAMorical@aol.com]

Yesterday I posted some ideas to 'New Image'. Since they really belong here
and I've got more ideas, I thought I would basically repost here. First there
are links like 'About SEUL','FAQ', etc. I am going to call these peripheral
links, since they are not the main goal of SEUL which is to bring Linux to the
end user. My idea on how to accomplish the main goal is through what I will
call main links. Basically the main links will eventually be to everything
required by the end user. Some of these links will be to SEUL site information
and others will be to wherever the information is located. Now taking a look
at the latest 'New SEUL' , what I'm refering to as peripheral links are
located on the left side. This is an ideal location. Then where should what I
refer to as main links be located. Since these are the links a site visitor is
most likely after, I feel they should be located both below the peripheral
links and combined with text where the main text is currently located. Chuck
as you suggested here is a proposed layout using a text editor. I am going to
first list the left side items followed by the right side items. This will
avoid the chance that although things are lined up on my screen, they may be
all shifted when you view them.

left side
	SEUL
peripheral links
	Whats New
	About SEUL
	FAQ
	Archieves
What else and in what order should the peripheral links be listed. I don't
think the 'To Do List' belongs on the home page. I feel 'Why LINUX' should be
'About Linux' in the main links. 'Development' will also be covered in the
main links. I'm still debating how to deal with 'Feedback'. I feel the Home
Page should be free of every scrap of extraneous information. Everything
should be pertinent. The visitors to the SUEL web site are our customers and
we need to focus on how we can serve their needs. Like getting them to the
information they need as quickly as possible.
	some space
end user links (main links)
	About Linux (for the visitor with little knowledge of Linux)
	Linux Distributions (to provide information about the various distributions)
	Linux Applications (to help the end user find the applications they need)
	break
SEUL developer links (main links)
	Advocacy
	Hardware (hardware issues)
	Software (OS and application issues)

right side
	Simple End User Linux
	Volunteer Work Available (message box)
	Survey Coming Soon (message box)
	mission statement (The goal of SEUL...)
main links (two sections end user links and SEUL developer links)
section 1
	About Linux
	Linux Distribution
	Linux Applications
section 2
	Advocacy
	Hardware
	Software
This is a first cut at the main links. For now for layout purposes just put
the simple links. Once the links are finalized I'll add text. This way will
minimize effort. The idea is to get the end user to the information they need
with a couple of clicks. This way we can provide the end users with the
information they need In a very efficient way. Even with the few people we
have, we can make substantial progress in bringing Linux to the average
home/office user. Chuck, if it's not to much work could you try this out so we
can see how it looks. This way we can work through ideas seeing how they look.
Also we need to consider how to minimize the effort required to maintain the
web site.

Roger, I realize I'm proposing to totally redesign of the web site. I've been
thinking through these ideas for some time. For almost a year I've been
looking into the Linux movement. By Linux I'm referring to the big picture, OS
+ apps. What I see is people working on this piece and that piece. Some more
successful than others. What I don't see is an organized attack on the
fundamential issue of bring Linux to the end user. You can argue that the
major distributors are doing this. I went through the process of putting Red
Hat, Caldera and S.u.S.E. onto the computer. From this exercise I learned
something is really missing namely easy access to pertinent information. I see
a real opportunity for SEUL to provide the missing piece namely a set of
informational links. I have gone to many of the sites in links.sdoc looking
them over. In many cases information is there but its scattered about. I
believe we should build a new set of links which is precisely focused on the
information the end user needs. We'll use the links from links.sdoc that meet
this objective and for now put the rest under 'Additional Links'. I believe
that everything that is currently being done falls into this scheme in one way
or another and this will give everyone an overview of how their piece fits
into the big picture of bringing Linux to the end user. Perhaps it would be
beneficial to combine the survey and web site efforts since they are related
in the sense that you wanted to use the results to basically further the cause
of bringing Linux to the end user. Also think about whether you would like the
survey to have a continuous presence on the web site. I hope I've presented my
ideas clearly in this short space. If not I'll try again.

Comments are solicited and appreciated.
 
Bob