OK, So What about the FAQ?

Subject: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:00 AM

Part of the "new Mudcat" is a revision of the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). I'm planning to do a rewrite in the next couple of months, but not until after I get back from the Getaway.
Jeff has designed a new FAQ format that will have permanent pages - it will no longer be in the form of a thread. The FAQ link will lead to a main page, which will have a table of contents for the FAQ, a Mudcat Site Map and PermaThread Index, and maybe some basic searching guidelines.
The FAQ is my baby, so I plan to maintain control of it (although I do stuff in consultation with Max, Jeff, and Mudcatters in general). I'm open to suggestions and contributions. I don't expect the FAQ to be a Rule Book Dictating Conduct. I figure reasonable people will behave reasonably, and idiots will behave as expected - and rules won't change that. I suppose there will be some information about what is and what is not considered courteous at Mudcat, and an explicit lyrics caveat. Mostly, I think the FAQ should be a how-to guide that helps people find their way around. Still, I don't think we need to get TOO detailed in our instructions. People should be able to figure most things out for themselves.
So, if you'd like to make suggestions for content, post them here.
If you'd like to write a section of the FAQ, post it here and I'll use what works well. This would also be a good place to post instructions on how to use new features of Mudcat.
Most of Mudcat hasn't changed, so much of the new FAQ will be just a revision of the old one.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:12 AM

Joe - I would not BOAST about your last year's "control" of the FAQ!!

Sincerely

Gargoyle

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Well, Gargoyle, it did what I wanted it to do, and I'm the one who wrote it.
Oh, OK, I lost the Battle of the Birthday Threads and we now get three of 'em a week. Life goes on.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:20 AM

Project Control Thoughts to Keep It Manageable


I think you should:

>>Edit the existing copy to reflect the changes;
>>Do whatever you and Jeff are going to do to break it up
>>Hang all that up where the beta-testers can see it
>>Let the beta-testers work with you to further refine it from there

From that point, you can then:

>>Let Mudcat volunteers continue helping people and directing them to specific parts of the FAQ to learn from
>>Let the questions give you a clear sense, over time, of what newcomers need to know in this New Mudcat World.
>>Keep refining

~Susan

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 03:00 AM

I suppose this thread might be a good temporary storage place for information about Mudcat features.
-Joe Offer-

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Subject: add a link: help, how does it work?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 30-Sep-02 - 08:12 PM

hi de hi!

tried to add a link just now- it doesn't show up in links.

why?

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Subject: RE: add a link: help, how does it work?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01-Oct-02 - 11:10 PM

Hi, Mr. Happy -
We had too many duplicate links, and too many people trying to sell stuff. So, we now allow members to submit links, and we'll go through them once a week or so and add the ones that need to be added.
We won't be very restrictive, but we will edit or omit lengthy, self-serving "singer-songsmith" ads, and we won't allow more than one link to any particular website. If there are people who want to post large numbers of related links, like to festivals or instrument resources, we'll work with them to set up a PermaThread.
Pene and I are still in disagreement about the organization of the links page. I want fewer categories, and he's trying to convince me of the wisdom of many. He's the programmer, so he wins - unless I can convince him otherwise [grin]. He and I have a great time working together.
-Joe Offer-

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Automatic Line Breaks
One problem with the automatic line breaks is that if you leave the box checked and paste in stuff that already has line breaks, it makes such a mess that it's almost impossible for me and the clones to fix. If you screw up, it's best to just post a second message that's completely correct, and we'll delete the first.
It's especially important to be careful when you're posting chords over lyrics. Generally, the easiest way is to type it up as a text file in Notepad or the like (not a word processor), something that uses monospaced letters where each letter takes up a space of uniform size. When you paste it into Mudcat, put a <pre> preformat command before the part with the chords, and </pre> after that section. DON'T put in line breaks, especially in this situation.
Remember that there is a preview box - if you're using HTML in a post, it's a good idea to get in the habit of using the preview box every time you post something complicated.
I hope everybody realizes that there is a check box at the bottom of the "reply to thread" box - if you uncheck that box, it turns off automatic linebreaks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 09:32 AM

Joe, my personal feeling is that a FAQ should, oddly enough, should be comprised of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers.

A "how-to" guide is more what you think people should know, not just they want to know. People don't read it unless they're looking for something, and if they DO look for something specific, I believe it's difficult for them to find it.

The FAQ should be one page long, with minimal scrolling.
Keep the users manual, but separate from the FAQ. You can link from the FAQ to "more information." You can use the FAQ as an index, but I'm sure there will be topics in the user's guide that don't come under the heading of "frequently asked" questions. Maybe they're "asked once in a blue moon" questions or "you didn't ask, but..." non-questions.

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:16 PM

Joe, now that we have page splits, do we need to worry about creating thread parts 2, 3, 4, 5, ad nauseum?

~Susan

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 02:33 PM

Good point, Susan -
Generally, please don't start a second part of an ongoing discussion. Let people figure out how to view the splits.
I have combined some recent threads that had an additional part started, but I'm not going to bother going back and combining older ones.

Pene and I are working on "grouping" (cross-linking threads and DT songs). If a thread has been grouped, you'll see a list of links at the top. If you know of a number of threads that need grouping, send me a personal message. Include the thread NUMBERS in a list, separated by commas (nothing else in that particular line, just the numbers and commas)
Also give me a list of DT songs that fit into the group.
If you're going to give me a group suggestion, please try to be complete (but note that a group should not inclued threads that also include unrelated songs - a group on "stormalong" should not inclued a thread that includes "Stormy" and many other sea songs). Also be aware that the groups will be a bit arbitrary - they are dependent on the judgment of the person who established the group - please don't argue that to death.
Note that I have been closing old threads that are merely song requests that are answered by links to other threads. I think it's better to continue the discussion in threads that have more information.

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Mudchat
I don't really like "chat,"so I don't expect to use Mudchat enough to know how to use it well. If somebody whould like to write up Mudchat instructions and post them here, that would be nice.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: No More Ragtime Links, Please
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Oct 02 - 02:21 PM

As part of the changeover to the New Mudcat, some of the server names will change. We'll always have www.mudcat.org - but it is probably best to use internal links. Please don't use links to Loki or Ragtime or Jah or IP numbers, or whatever you have been wont to do.

In the future, please try to use internal links, like this:

<a href=/thread.cfm?threadid=50235>click here</a>

not

<a href=http://ragtime.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=50235&messages=1235>click here</a>

Note, however, that you cannot use internal links in the Help Forum, if you are linking to the main Mudcat.
Make sense?
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

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Pene (Jeff) and I are waiting for people to discover things. There are lots of new features nobody has said anything about, so I imagine most people haven't discovered them.
I suppose we could have complicated guides and instructions, but most of our features are self-explanatory. You just click on the link, and see what it does.
On this very page, there are dozens of links to explore - have you tried them all? Most are the familiar, underlined blue-clicky, but there are lots of links in the dropdown quicklinks menu, and across the banner at the top of the page.
The links won't harm you or your computer, and they won't harm Mudcat. Click around, and see what you can find.
Thnaks, Jeff, for all your wonderful work.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Posting lyrics in the New Mudcat
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Oct 02 - 10:51 AM

If you have both Mudcat and your word processor open, it's easy:

• Highlight the lyrics in your word processor so that they change color.
• Copy them [CTRL-C] to your computer's "clipboard."
• Go to the Mudcat "Reply to thread" box and make sure your cursor is blinking in the box.
• Paste [CTRL-V] the words into the box, tidy them up if they need tidying, and hit the "submit" button.

If you're unsure, check the "preview" box so you can see what you've done. You can use the preview box in any Mudcat thread to practice for as long as you like. Nobody can see your post until you have it absolutely perfect (or until you give up and hit the "submit" button).

Remember - if you're submitting lyrics that already have <br> line breaks visible, uncheck the Automatic Linebreaks feature to turn it off.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Oct 02 - 11:05 AM

Just discovered that the link in Quick/drop down to Mudcat Market doesn't work.

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 09:35 PM

What features of the New Mudcat need explanation?
-Joe Offer-

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MMario and I have been working on Mudcat MIDIs since Pene Azul whipped it up for us. There are over a thousand MIDIs, and MMario is responsible for the majority of them. We can link MIDIs to one thread and one DT song each, so people should discover the MIDIs when they look for the lyrics. Look at this DT file and this thread for examples. In the process, we're also cleaning up thread names and cross-linking threads and DT songs. What's really nice is that this is an ongoing thing that will constantly improve - and we don't need to come out with a new version of Mudcat or the DT to do updates.
If you see lyrics that need tunes, send a Noteworthy Composer, ABC, or MIDI file to MMario or me. We prefer Noteworthy files with the lyrics included, so we know which note goes to which word. Please be sure to tell us the source of the tune. The same holds true when you post lyrics - be sure to cite your source.

-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

Subject: Posting Chords
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 11:55 AM

Posting chords is easy with the new automatic linebreaks.

• Just highlight and copy the text with the chords, and paste it into the "reply to thread" box.
  
  
• Be sure to put <pre> before and </pre> after the test.
  
  
• Make sure automatic linebreaks is turned ON (which is the ordinary setting)
  
  
• You may want to use the "preview" box to experiment. In fact, it's probably best to preview every posting with preformat tags.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting Chords
From: Jeri
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 12:45 PM

One thing I noticed is that Tabs don't seem to come out right. Space bar works better.

My guess is that Mudcat now inserts nbps's or whatsits in for spaces. Tab keys mean the same number of spaces whether there's room for X or only room for X-3 after the text. It's why you can   write      things      like         this - but it sure buggers other stuff up.

Subject: RE: OK, So What about the FAQ?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:07 PM

Special Product Request Form

What happens after we submit that? Who gets it, what do they do, how does it get sorted out between Dick and Sandy, and so forth?

The word "Special" makes me think it's for stuff I can't get otherwise-- rare, obscure stuff not available through mainstream vendors. If we want to encourage people to buy through Dick or Sandy, there is still not enough prominence to that fact, either in the Request Form or otherwise around Mudcat. It's just easier to link to Amazon, especially with sound clips available there (I know Sandy has some clips too).... it needs some additional marketing-type thought.

~Susan