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Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

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    #1

    Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

    Maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's not. Back when I saw word of the Wiki-based Alphapedia, I thought, hey... finally I'll be able to locate answers to my questions without having to post to the forum.

    Unfortunately, it's not (for me, anyway) turning out to be much of a resource for on-demand answers. As with the web-based online help system, I feel there are far too many results returned on any given query.

    For example, this morning I needed to review the procedure for uploading files to the WAS via web page. The title of the page I hoped to find (having finally located it) is "Uploading Files to the Application Server". But the keywords in my head were (roughly) "upload" "file" "application server". That's fair, isn't it?

    So, into Alphapedia I typed my keywords. The result? Over 300 entries returned. This, in my view, is not quite as helpful as it could be. I am increasingly frustrated when, upon seeing 5, 10, 15, or more screens of 25 "pages" returned, I waste my time browsing through 2/3rds of the pages to finally locate the information I seek.

    There have been comments (complaints) before about A5 documentation. I don't see Alphapedia as an improvement for on-demand information (note that I do qualify that with "on-demand", for I think it is a perfectly suitable resource for staying up to date on a general basis).

    So I grumble... maybe it's the decaf... Or am I perhaps missing something, and not utilizing the search functions as efficiently as I might?
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

    Originally posted by fsi View Post
    ...
    So I grumble... maybe it's the decaf... Or am I perhaps missing something, and not utilizing the search functions as efficiently as I might?
    Well, I drink real caffeine and it don't work no better for me. Add to that the fact that there are a half-dozen input boxes, so it's always a guess on to which to use to get the results you are looking for.
    Peter
    AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

     [email protected]
    https://www.alphabasesolutions.com

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

      "The info is there if you know where to look!"

      And that to me is the fundamental problem. The number of times I have searched on the Alphapedia AND on here for that matter using search words I THINK should find what I need and come up empty. Eventually I might stumble on what I need.

      The added problem for me is that I "think" in English rather than American. It must be just as hard for our antipodean friends!
      Glen Schild



      My Blog

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

        Yeah, Peter, that's given me pause to laugh once or twice... which box do I type into? Then, on top of that, there is the default selection of Exact Match! Are you kidding me? I mean, chances are pretty good that if I had that firm a grasp - to be able to determine exact match - I'd probably not need to do the search in the first place.

        And, yes, Glen, I agree the information is there. Somewhere. Hiding in one corner or another. Or under the carpet. Or behind that bookcase. Unfortunately, it seems finding the information is often 99% of the battle.

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

          I certainly lament the loss in the wiki of an index which I still use in the old Help file probably 80% of the time vs. the search capability. The index gives me a better chance of discovering similar terms that might have the real answer to my question.

          That is one reason I still like physical technical books - since there is no search, they must go to the expense of providing an index.

          Bill.

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

            Drinking diet coke here so not sure where I fit in on the caf but all the other statements fit me to the 'T'.

            Have had the same frustration and takes me a long time to find what I need as well.

            If I think of Alphapedia as a local library;
            Search is more of a pointer to one "Quarter of the library" than the book, you still have to look for the book and then find the page yourself.
            I would be happy just to get it narrowed down to "the information you need is in a book within five feet of where you stand" type thing.

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

              I agree, I have always say that the biggest problem with alpha documentation is not the quantity or quality of it, the problem is the search engine used to find an specific part of the documentation.

              I would like to see some kind of Tagging mechanism where people could contribute with Key words and there could be a Key Word search, Take "Last FM" for example tagging/categorizing correctly all those different kinds of music could seem impossible but the contribution of the people has made it possible and very accurate in my opinion.
              Cheers
              Mauricio

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                We have free tags in the Wiki. Nobody was using them, so we turned off the tag cloud display. They are still there, however.

                I made a video about how to search the wiki. It's near the bottom of the home page. Have you viewed it? Did it help?

                I always search by the page name first. The drop-downs often get me where I'm going. If my first try gives me nothing, I'll open up the search.

                If I need full-text search I usually use the find box at the top of the page. If that returns an overwhelming number of results and I don't see what I want in the first page, I sometimes try the Google search, and sometimes try adjusting my keywords.

                We tried hiding the Google search to make it less confusing, but people complained that they preferred the Google search.

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                  Antipodean. Damn, I got to use that in a sentence today!
                  Tommy Thompson
                  Thompson Consulting Services
                  Beautiful Kentucky Lake, Springville, TN 38256
                  [email protected]

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                    Martin, How can I add a new Tag?

                    Thanks
                    Cheers
                    Mauricio

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                      I just changed the permissions so that you (and any registered user) can add tags. You should now see a Freetags box in the right-hand column.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                        I just see an add comment button at the bottom that doesn't works but im not able to see the free tag label

                        Edit: I do see a section that says freetag editor but is just a label not a link or anything
                        Cheers
                        Mauricio

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                          Go to a page other than the home page. Add comment should work, and you should see "Freetags editor" on the right under "Featured Articles".

                          If add comment doesn't work, go to your preferences (http://wiki.alphasoftware.com/tiki-user_preferences.php) and make sure that your Theme is "Site default".

                          If the right-hand column isn't showing, click on the <> symbol at the top right above "Email this page".

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Re: Monday Morning Grumble - Alphapedia

                            thanks Martin changing the theme did the job
                            Cheers
                            Mauricio

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