Okay, let's put this in a slightly different light. jcwren pointed out that there are approximately 28,000 nodes and providing a link likst to all of them would not be realistic. Of course, we can search for nodes that interest us, but that's really missing out on a lot of interesting PM stuff.
For example, in my personal nodelet, I have added numerous "PM" nodes that are integral to the site as opposed to being created by Monks like myself. Some of these are:
I can't find a comprehensive list of PM-specific information like that; I had to stumble across those on my own. I can search nodes for information on using Perl to send e-mail or browse through Perl Poetry all I want, but that's not quite the same.
Perhaps narrowing Guildenstern's request down to PM-specific information would be more interesting.
Cheers,
Ovid | [reply] |
You've hit the nail on the head Ovid. I feel that the site is laid out well enough that I can find writeups, code, etc. with little to no trouble. It's the PM specific stuff that seems to be a bit more difficult to dig up.
I've also noticed that some of the links that are there aren't where one expects them to be. I remember quite clearly clicking around into the PM FAQ hoping to find the "Where Do I Post X?" node, only to find it much later at the bottom of the SOPW page. Not a bad place to put it, but certainly not the most intuitive.
| [reply] |
Unfortunately, it's not really possible. Imagine that the all the articles are like index cards in a box (in PM speak, these are called 'nodes') Each card has a title, and owner, and some bit of data associated with it. There are just under 28,000 nodes. Now, somehow you'd like to provide a master index that contains the title of each of these cards. I'm sure you begin to see the problem.
There's also not necessarily a completely logical layout to the nodes. Some are threads, or followups of others nodes, some are just little free standing things out there in space. To provide a comprehensive index would be quite an undertaking, since categorizing them would take a lot of work.
There is the Seach box, at the top of the screen. You can also type 'Super Search' in the Search box, and you'll be taken to a node (cool, eh? Nodes can contain data, programs, all sorts of stuff) that will allow you to search by keywords.
The whole search and origanization topic is something that has come up a number of times. It seems there's really no super-cool solution that just presents itself. But if you have any good ideas, by all means, post them.
Oh, and the things like Best Nodes and Worst Nodes aren't based on your priviledge. There are nodes that are, but you'll not run across them in the normal browsing of the monastery. If you do (like by typing certain words in the Search box), you'll get a message like 'You don't have access to that node. Tough beans.'
I didn't mean to over-simplify the problem, and insult your intelligence, but I didn't know how familiar you are with PM, the way it's implemented, etc. If so, I apologize. Hope this clarified it a little for you.
--Chris
e-mail jcwren | [reply] |
On the contrary - no insult detected. If I would have taken the time to think about what I was saying first I would have seen how difficult it would be to offer links to a large number of nodes directly.
I was just hoping that there could be an easier way for me to find out about all the goodies of the site through "normal browsing", as you put it. I hear what you're saying about how this topic has come up before, so maybe I'll search around and do a little reading of the FM of what's been discussed in the past. There's always a chance I could have some kind of idea.
| [reply] |
I've had trouble navigating the Monastery too. There
are so many permanent nodes to explore, even just from the
Monastery Gates, that unless you're hardworking, patient,
and humble, you'll overlook things a few times before
discovering them. Using the search box and then
navigating backward, I often find that I've been tearing my
hair out trying
to find a node that's only a few clicks away. I can't fault
the site design for that. My only complaint (currently :-)
is that some
information that seems to naturally belong together is
scattered across several locations. I found so much useful
information just lying around that I didn't realize that
the Perl Monks FAQ was the primary documentation for
Perl Monks until I asked a question and was directed there.
Too much documentation -- I think I'll die from the stress!
:-)
All exact science is dominated by the idea of approximation.
-- Bertrand Russell | [reply] |