[ciphershed] Re: Website & publicity
- From: "Alain Forget" <aforget@xxxxxxx>
- To: <ciphershed@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:57:34 -0400
No Niklas, I don't think you were harsh at all. I completely agree with
everything you've said, and I definitely think this should be a priority.
Stephen, the specific things I mentioned were just examples, but I could have
written pages about why the current website, while just fine for dev purposes,
is insufficient for attracting the general public to our project/product.
Alain
-----Original Message-----
From: ciphershed-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ciphershed-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Niklas Lemcke - ???
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2014 04:42
To: ciphershed@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ciphershed] Re: Website & publicity
I seem to have been a little harsh. Please keep commenting, I'm just
afraid of the negative influences a wiki-only presence might have.
On Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:57:14 +0800
Niklas Lemcke - 林樂寬 <compul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Jun 2014 23:55:17 -0400
> Stephen R Guglielmo <srguglielmo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 2:19 PM, Alain Forget <aforget@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > Unfortunately, the website doesn't look, read, or feel like a "normal"
> > > website. It does have a very "developer" feel to it. The front page talks
> > > about the project being managed by experienced and passionate
> > > programmers, KISS philosophy, non-anonymous dev, public code edits...yeah
> > > yeah, that all sounds good, but nowhere does the page say *what
> > > CipherShed is*! ("Cross-platform on-the-fly encryption software." is
> > > horribly technical and doesn't tell users anything meaningful) Any
> > > end-user coming to this page will think, "Uhh, I must be the wrong
> > > place." It's a fine site for us technical people working on the project
> > > (I'm happy we even have a logo!), but for any (non-technical) users (who
> > > just want to use the software and not get involved), it could be better.
> > >
> > > Perhaps it's as simple as putting our current webpage one level down
> > > (accessible through a "Developers" or "Contribute" link) from a more
> > > user-welcoming front-end that Niklas is suggesting.
> > >
> > > Regarding the About page, I'm afraid it won't likely have the effect you
> > > hope it will. It's just a bunch of words that anyone could have typed (or
> > > randomly generated!); it provides no evidence that we are who we claim,
> > > and that we've done the things we claim (and thus have that expertise).
> > > So there should be links to those projects' webpages that people can go
> > > see and confirm that it really exists and see that we did indeed
> > > participate in those projects. There should be links to our own webpages
> > > that talk about our past and current work. Both Bill and Stephen have
> > > such pages; I was rather surprised that you didn't put a link from the
> > > About page to your sites. Basically, anything at all (links!) that shows
> > > that we are real people with real expertise, real skills, real history,
> > > and real reputability (and thus accountability).
> > >
> > > Alain
> >
> > I feel as though everything you mentioned can easily be changed...The
> > introduction page can easily be changed by anyone with write access
> > (which Niklas can give to you). We can describe what CipherShed is, we
> > can add a screenshot or two, we can add more information on the About
> > page. The technical information on the Introduction page can be moved
> > to another page easily.
> >
> > I think there's logistical issues with having a "regular" home page.
> > It would either rely on one person for updates (Niklas, since he's
> > running the server) or he would have to give out SSH access to the
> > server to allow anyone else to edit. What happens if he's on vacation,
> > for example, and we have a security issue that we need to post ASAP?
> >
> > I suppose if we do go down that path, we can create another git repo
> > under the CipherShed account with our homepage code. That way, anyone
> > can contribute via a pull request. However, it would still rely on a
> > single person to update the website from the git repo (basically, a
> > `git clone` then `rm -r .git`).
> >
>
> Yes, we have a page with all the information we need to give out.
> No, it is neither clean nor user-friendly nor inviting. It is a wiki, a
> knowledge base for all the information that there is. When my dad would
> browse to ciphershed.org and to truecrypt.ch he would pick truecrypt.ch
> without a second thought, not even considering the fact that they're
> not actually doing anything. Many, probably most end-users are that
> way. Even I would tend to want to use anything truecrypt.ch offers,
> just because of the appearance.
>
> A decent, clean, professional surface for the common public is
> absolutely crucial.
>
> A wiki and forum beyond that are good to provide a platform for
> discussions, documentations and more detailed infos for people that are
> interested. They are all we need before we actually release something.
> But when we offer our software to the public, we need the above
> mentioned.
>
> Also, WP would be one of several options to remove any logistical
> issues. No need to be all complicated with git.
>
--
Niklas
At the time of writing, no warrants have ever been served to me, Niklas
Lemcke, nor am I under any personal legal compulsion concerning the
CipherShed project. I do not know of any searches or seizures of my
assets.
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